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Bullpen fails as Brewers' win streak snapped

Associated Press  —  6/07/2008 11:37 am

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DENVER -- The Milwaukee Brewers were well on the way to their seventh straight victory Friday night, then the roof fell in.

Ben Sheets pitched six strong innings and Milwaukee held a 4-1 head before Colorado rallied off relievers Guillermo Mota (2-4) and Brian Shouse at Coors Field. The Rockies scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning capped off by a two-run homer by Brad Hawpe to end the Brewers winning streak.

Mota gave up singles to Jonathan Herrera and Ryan Spilborghs, followed by Todd Helton's RBI double over Gabe Kapler's head in center. Garrett Atkins then tripled to right-center to tie it before Hawpe delivered the game-winning homer.

Hawpe, a left-handed hitter who was activated off the 15-day disabled list before the game, hit the first pitch from left-hander Brian Shouse into the bleachers in right.

"That was fun today," said Hawpe, who's been out since May 21 with a strained right hamstring.

After his shot, Hawpe casually flipped the bat into the air, not intending to show up Shouse, but to celebrate success. It was just his 11th homer of his career off a lefty.

"Right pitch, wrong location. I did not want that breaking ball to be a strike," Shouse said. "It was going our way and boom, it snowballed the other way."

The loss spoiled a solid outing from Sheets, who allowed five hits and a run over six innings.

"This is Coors Field. Nothing surprises me," Sheets said. "I've given up big innings here and I've seen them given up."

Manny Corpas (1-3) earned the victory after getting out of a jam in the eighth and Brian Fuentes pitched a perfect ninth for his ninth save in 10 chances since taking over the closer's role on April 24.

Russell Branyan and J.J. Hardy hit back-to-back homers in the fifth. It was the second straight game the Brewers hit two in a row with Branyan again taking part. He and Corey Hart both hit homers -- Hart's an inside-the-parker -- in a win over Arizona on Wednesday.

Branyan's blast to right field against Colorado was his fifth in his last six games. Hardy's homer to left was his fourth of the season. Jason Kendall nearly made it a trifecta as he flew out to Hawpe in deep right.

Milwaukee was finally able to solve Ubaldo Jimenez, who had retired 12 straight before the Brewers' power surge. Jimenez entered the fifth having allowed just one hit, an RBI single to Kapler in the first. He was pulled after six innings, surrendering five hits and four runs. He had six strikeouts.

Jimenez remains winless in his last 11 starts, but manager Clint Hurdle liked what he saw out of the hard throwing 24-year-old.

"I said, 'One of these nights we're going to go out and score six runs for you real early,' '' said Hurdle, whose team has won three in a row after dropping eight straight. "We get six runs and I look down at him at the end of the bench and he just smiles at me. I said, 'Next time I'll tell you before the game."'

Kapler continued his torrid streak at the plate, going 1-for-3 with a walk. He's batting .524 with seven RBIs over his last nine games.

Helton extended his hitting streak to 12 games with two hits and Jeff Baker had an RBI double in the second.

For Hawpe, it just felt good to contribute again.

"You sit there for two weeks, waiting to get into the game and help," he said. "I go out there today, not trying to do too much. ... My only goal was not to swing hard -- nice and easy and see what happens. It ended up working out."

Associated Press  —  6/07/2008 11:37 am