MLB – Fielder Grand Slams for a Brewers Victory
By: Cindy Ferguson
After trailing behind the Cleveland Indians up to the eighth inning, the Milwaukee Brewers recovered to finish 14-12 in the interleague game. A combination of a powerful Brewers offense, made up of Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun, and a faltering Indians bullpen led to the surprise win.
Together, Fielder and Braun combined for 11 RBIs, and Fielder hit his first grand slam. The resurgence came as a surprise after weeks of not hitting at home.
The end of the first saw the teams tied at 2-2, with Braun hitting a homer to the left for the Brewers, and Choo-Shin Soo homering to the right for the Indians. Soo’s battering average improved to .291 and his homer – bringing in two runs – gave him 40 RBIs.
In the third the Indians started to pull ahead, and in the fourth, three singles gave the Indians the lead with another four runs. Milwaukee lagged behind by five.
It was a rocky start for Brewers pitcher Dave Bush, who allowed eight runs in only 3 1/3 innings. Bush gave up two of Cleveland’s four home runs, tying him with Philadelphia’s Brett Myers for the most allowed with 17.
“Somehow mechanically I’m out of sync,” Bush explained. “I can’t seem to get my arm and body on the same page.”
Brewers pitcher Chris Narveson, however, didn’t fare much better. By the sixth, Victor Martinez, Choo, Mark DeRosa, and Travis Hafner had all homered for the Indians; Hafner’s hit brought in three runs, giving the Indians a 12-8 lead.
Finally, however, Braun and Fielder came to the rescue in the eighth. Cleveland’s Luis Vizcaino and Matt Herges loaded the bases with walks. Braun singled to shortstop, bringing in one run, cutting the Indians’ lead to 12-9. The Indians suddenly realized the mire they’d gotten themselves into and replaced Herges with Rafael Perez. But they were too late; Fielder stepped up to bat.
Fielder hit Perez’s first pitch for his first grand slam, homering to the seats in right-center and bringing a desperately needed four points to the Brewers that brought the score to 13-12, Milwaukee.
Mat Gamel then singled for an RBI that increased the Brewers’ lead to 2.
Neither team scored in the ninth.
In just four innings of work, the Indians had allowed eight runs.
“It’s a situation where you come in and throw strikes,” Herges said of the eighth. “I didn’t do that. Period. That was on me. I’m better than coming in in the eighth inning with the lead and walking the first guy. That’s why I’ll have trouble sleeping tonight.”
“It was cool, a good feeling,” Fielder said of his grand slam. “I’m happy we came out on top. I was just trying to get a pitch I could drive up the middle.”
Fielder’s six RBIs were a career high, pushing him to 62 for the season, outstripping both Raul Ibanez and Jason Bay for the lead in the MLB. He can also boast 16 home runs and, of course, now one grand slam. He is moving toward 157 RBIs.
Braun scored four times, driving in five runs with his homer, triple, and single.
About the Author:
Cindy Ferguson is a high-ranking sports writer, currently writing reviews on the MLB for the sports betting industry. Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety on your site, making sure to leave all links in place and do not modify any of the content.