Fielder's Clutch Hit Lifts Brewers Over Twins
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Prince Fielder doubled in the go-ahead runs with two outs in seventh inning to raise his NL-leading RBI total to 65 and rally the Milwaukee Brewers over the Minnesota Twins 4-3 on Friday night.
Milwaukee is 2-2 on this interleague homestand after a back-and-forth affair with their border rivals. The Brewers led 2-0 on doubles by Corey Hart in the fourth and Ryan Braun in the fifth.
Danny Valencia hit a three-run homer off Randy Wolf (6-4) to give Minnesota a 3-2 lead in the sixth, but Fielder answered the next inning off reliever Jose Mijares.
Twins starter Scott Baker (5-5) had his personal three-game winning streak snapped after leaving two on for Mijares. John Axford pitched the ninth for his 17th straight save and 20th this season.
Milwaukee is the only team in the majors not to lose consecutive home games this year, and the Brewers appeared to be in complete control of this one leading 2-0 until it unraveled over three batters in the sixth.
Michael Cuddyer walked, Delmon Young singled and Valencia snapped an 0-for-13 skid with a towering shot that landed in the restaurant in left field to put the Twins ahead 3-2.
In the seventh, Rickie Weeks and Nyjer Morgan singled with one out. Braun popped out to shallow right field and was the last batter Baker faced. Mijares battled back from a 3-0 count on Fielder, but the slugger laced a full-count pitch to right for his 64th and 65th RBIs.
Wolf pitched seven innings and is 3-0 with a 2.30 ERA in his last seven starts. Kameron Loe pitched the eighth followed by Axford's 1-2-3 ninth.
Minnesota has lost three straight since a season-best eight-game winning streak. The Twins learned before the game that first baseman Justin Morneau needs neck surgery to remove a herniated disk fragment and will miss six weeks.
Baker walked Fielder with an out in the fourth and it came back to cost him when Casey McGehee's bloop fell harmlessly for a single in left and Hart doubled down the right-field line to make it 1-0.
But the Twins limited the damage when the Brewers tested Young's arm in left. Young caught Yuniesky Betancourt's shallow pop fly and catcher Joe Mauer made the tag as McGehee tried to dive around and touch the plate.
Braun extended his career-best hitting streak to 15 games with his run-scoring, ground-rule double in the fifth that scored Wolf. It should have scored Weeks easily from first if it had stayed in the field of play. Instead, Weeks was stranded at third.
NOTES: Brewers owner Mark Attanasio sat in his customary seats on the front row, and failed to snag a bouncing foul ball from Mauer in the eighth. A fan across from him handed Attanasio the misplayed ball, and he gave it to his wife, Debbie. ... Braun is the only player in the majors to have three double-digit hitting streaks this season. ... The Twins are expected to activate Jim Thome on Saturday. He is seven homers from 600.
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