GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: HOUSTON (32-43) at MILWAUKEE (43-32)

NL: HOUSTON at MILWAUKEE

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
HOUSTON 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 6 1
MILWAUKEE 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 x 6 9 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: HOU - JASON JENNINGS, STEPHEN RANDOLPH (8TH), DAVE BORKOWSKI (8TH)
AND ERIC MUNSON

MIL - BEN SHEETS, CARLOS VILLANUEVA (7TH), DERRICK
TURNBOW (8TH), CHRIS SPURLING (9TH) AND JOHNNY ESTRADA


WP - BEN SHEETS (9-3)
LP - JASON JENNINGS (1-2)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: HOU - CARLOS LEE (13) OFF BEN SHEETS IN THE 6TH, 0 ON

MIL - J.J. HARDY (18) OFF JASON JENNINGS IN THE 1ST, 0 ON
PRINCE FIELDER (27) OFF STEPHEN RANDOLPH IN THE 8TH, 0 ON


TIME: 2:47 ATT: 28,786

PROBABLES: HOU - WANDY RODRIGUEZ (4-6, 4.20)
MIL - CLAUDIO VARGAS (6-1, 4.09)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at MILWAUKEE

<div class="pre">HOUSTON (1) VS MILWAUKEE (6) - FINAL

HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Loretta 3b 5 0 0 0 0 2 5 .323
H Pence cf 3 0 1 0 1 1 1 .352
L Berkman rf 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 .261
C Lee lf 3 1 1 1 1 1 2 .291
M Lamb 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .309
C Burke 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .233
E Munson c 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .216
E Bruntlett ss 3 0 0 0 0 3 2 .267
a-O Palmeiro ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .279
J Jennings p 2 0 1 0 1 1 0 .125
S Randolph p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
D Borkowski p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-L Scott ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .243

Totals 33 1 6 1 4 10 17

a-singled to center for E Bruntlett in the 9th; b-walked for D Borkowski in
the 9th.

BATTING: HR - C Lee (13, 6th inning off B Sheets 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - C Lee
(60). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Loretta 2, M Lamb 2. Team LOB
- 9.

BASERUNNING: SB - H Pence (6, 2nd base off B Sheets/J Estrada).

FIELDING: E - M Lamb (6, ground ball).


MILWAUKEE ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Hart rf 5 1 1 1 0 3 3 .314
J Hardy ss 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 .285
R Braun 3b 4 0 2 1 0 0 3 .327
P Fielder 1b 4 1 1 1 0 1 2 .283
B Hall cf 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 .268
J Estrada c 4 1 1 1 0 0 2 .282
G Jenkins lf 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .278
C Counsell 2b 4 1 1 0 0 1 3 .239
B Sheets p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .097
C Villanueva p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-G Gross ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .200
D Turnbow p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-T Graffanino ph 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .248
C Spurling p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 31 6 9 6 4 6 13

a-walked for C Villanueva in the 7th; b-hit sacrifice fly to center for D
Turnbow in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - R Braun (9, J Jennings); B Hall (20, S Randolph); J Estrada (16,
S Randolph); G Jenkins (10, S Randolph). HR - J Hardy (18, 1st inning off J
Jennings 0 on, 1 Out), P Fielder (27, 8th inning off S Randolph 0 on, 0 Out). S
- B Sheets. SF - T Graffanino. RBI - J Hardy (50), C Hart (31), R Braun (19), P
Fielder (62), J Estrada (26), T Graffanino (17). 2-out RBI - R Braun. Runners
left in scoring position, 2 out - J Estrada 1, P Fielder 1, C Hart 1, R Braun
2. Team LOB - 7.

BASERUNNING: SB - C Counsell (4, 2nd base off J Jennings/E Munson), C Hart
(15, 2nd base off J Jennings/E Munson), R Braun (5, 2nd base off J Jennings/E
Munson). CS - G Jenkins (1, 2nd base by J Jennings/E Munson).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (C Counsell-P Fielder).


----------------------------------------------------
HOUSTON - 000 001 000 -- 1
MILWAUKEE - 102 000 03x -- 6
----------------------------------------------------

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Jennings (L, 1-2) 7 5 3 3 4 5 1 3.66
S Randolph 1/3 4 3 3 0 1 1 17.36
D Borkowski 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.26

MILWAUKEE ip h r er bb so hr era
B Sheets (W, 9-3) 6 5 1 1 3 5 1 3.09
C Villanueva (H, 12) 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.79
D Turnbow (H, 21) 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.89
C Spurling 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 3.33

WP - J Jennings 2, D Turnbow, C Spurling. IBB - J Hardy (by J Jennings).
Pitches-strikes: J Jennings 111-62; S Randolph 17-13; D Borkowski 5-3; B Sheets
112-70; C Villanueva 17-11; D Turnbow 14-9; C Spurling 21-14. Ground balls-fly
balls: J Jennings 7-8; S Randolph 0-0; D Borkowski 1-1; B Sheets 2-10; C
Villanueva 0-1; D Turnbow 1-1; C Spurling 0-2. Batters faced: J Jennings 30; S
Randolph 5; D Borkowski 2; B Sheets 25; C Villanueva 3; D Turnbow 4; C Spurling
5.

UMPIRES: HP--Wally Bell. 1B--Bill Welke. 2B--Laz Diaz. 3B--John Hirschbeck.

T--2:47. Att--28,786.
Weather: 80 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 10 mph, right
to left.</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at MILWAUKEE

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
HOUSTON 1
MILWAUKEE 6 FINAL</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at MILWAUKEE

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOUSTON (1) AT MILWAUKEE (6) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MILWAUKEE 1ST: C Hart struck out swinging. J Hardy homered to left.
R Braun flied out to center. P Fielder struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, MILWAUKEE 1.

MILWAUKEE 3RD: C Counsell reached on infield single to shortstop.
C Counsell stole second. B Sheets sacrificed to first, C Counsell to third.
C Hart singled to left, C Counsell scored. C Hart stole second. J Hardy grounded
out to shortstop, C Hart to third. R Braun doubled to left, C Hart scored.
P Fielder grounded out to second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0,
MILWAUKEE 3.

HOUSTON 6TH: C Lee homered to center. M Lamb flied out to left. C Burke
grounded out to shortstop. E Munson flied out to left. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) HOUSTON 1, MILWAUKEE 3.

MILWAUKEE 8TH: S Randolph relieved J Jennings. P Fielder homered to center.
B Hall doubled to deep right center. J Estrada doubled to left, B Hall
scored. G Jenkins doubled to deep right, J Estrada to third. C Counsell
struck out swinging. T Graffanino hit for D Turnbow. D Borkowski relieved
S Randolph. T Graffanino hit sacrifice fly to center, J Estrada scored, G Jenkins
to third. C Hart grounded out to shortstop. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors)
HOUSTON 1, MILWAUKEE 6.</div>

 

Sheets carries Brewers past Astros

<h3>MILWAUKEE 6, HOUSTON 1</h3>MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- Ben Sheets tossed six effective inningsand J.J. Hardy homered as the Milwaukee Brewers posted a 6-1victory over the Houston Astros on Monday night.

Sheets (9-3) yielded one run and five hits with five strikeoutsand three walks en route to recording his fifth straight winningdecision. The righthander has been stellar against Houston,allowing just three runs in 13 frames to pick up two wins thisseason.

Sheets' lone mistake came in the sixth, when slugger Carlos Leesmacked a 3-2 pitch over the left-center field wall for his 13thhomer of the season.

Milwaukee relievers Carlos Villanueva, Derrick Turnbow and ChrisSpurling all pitched a scoreless inning to keep the game atbay.

The Brewers opened the scoring in the first inning, when Hardydelivered his 18th blast of the season against starter JasonJennings (1-2) for a 1-0 edge. Hardy was playing in his firstgame after missing the last three due to a sore lower back.

In the third, Craig Counsell singled, stole second and scored onCory Hart's RBI single. Hart, who extended his hitting streakto 12 games, came around on rookie Ryan Braun's run-scoringdouble to left.

Milwaukee added some insurance in the eighth against relieverStephen Randolph. Prince Fielder collected his NationalLeague-leading 27th homer and Johnny Estrada added an RBI doubleand scored on pinch hitter Tony Graffanino's sacrifice fly.

Jennings allowed three runs and five hits in seven inning in hisfirst career setback against Milwaukee. He fanned five andissues four free passes.

 

NL: HOUSTON at MILWAUKEE

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOUSTON (1) AT MILWAUKEE (6) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Houston Starting Lineups -- M Loretta 3B, H Pence CF, L Berkman RF, C Lee LF,
M Lamb 1B, C Burke 2B, E Munson C, E Bruntlett SS, J Jennings RHP.

Milwaukee Starting Lineups -- C Hart RF, J Hardy SS, R Braun 3B, P Fielder 1B,
B Hall CF, J Estrada C, G Jenkins LF, C Counsell 2B, B Sheets RHP.

Umpires -- Wally Bell (HP), Bill Welke (1B), Laz Diaz (2B), John Hirschbeck (3B).

Gametime Weather: 80 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind right to left at 10 mph.


HOUSTON 1ST: M Loretta lined out to right. H Pence walked. L Berkman
struck out looking, H Pence stole second. C Lee walked. M Lamb flied out to
center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, MILWAUKEE 0.

MILWAUKEE 1ST: C Hart struck out swinging. J Hardy homered to left.
R Braun flied out to center. P Fielder struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, MILWAUKEE 1.

HOUSTON 2ND: C Burke singled to center. E Munson flied out to center.
E Bruntlett struck out swinging. J Jennings singled to right center, C Burke to
third. M Loretta grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
HOUSTON 0, MILWAUKEE 1.

MILWAUKEE 2ND: B Hall flied out to right. J Estrada flied out to right.
G Jenkins struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, MILWAUKEE 1.

HOUSTON 3RD: H Pence singled to left. L Berkman popped out to third.
C Lee lined into double play, second to first, H Pence doubled off first.(0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, MILWAUKEE 1.

MILWAUKEE 3RD: C Counsell reached on infield single to shortstop.
C Counsell stole second. B Sheets sacrificed to first, C Counsell to third.
C Hart singled to left, C Counsell scored. C Hart stole second. J Hardy grounded
out to shortstop, C Hart to third. R Braun doubled to left, C Hart scored.
P Fielder grounded out to second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0,
MILWAUKEE 3.

HOUSTON 4TH: M Lamb flied out to left. C Burke flied out to right.
E Munson singled to center. E Bruntlett struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, MILWAUKEE 3.

MILWAUKEE 4TH: B Hall grounded out to third. J Estrada flied out to left.
G Jenkins walked. G Jenkins caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, MILWAUKEE 3.

HOUSTON 5TH: J Jennings walked. M Loretta struck out swinging. H Pence
fouled out to first. L Berkman struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
HOUSTON 0, MILWAUKEE 3.

MILWAUKEE 5TH: C Counsell grounded out to first. B Sheets flied out to
left. C Hart struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0,
MILWAUKEE 3.

HOUSTON 6TH: C Lee homered to center. M Lamb flied out to left. C Burke
grounded out to shortstop. E Munson flied out to left. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) HOUSTON 1, MILWAUKEE 3.

MILWAUKEE 6TH: J Hardy lined out to right. R Braun singled to left.
P Fielder popped out to shortstop. R Braun stole second. B Hall walked.
J Estrada grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 1, MILWAUKEE 3.

HOUSTON 7TH: C Villanueva relieved B Sheets. E Bruntlett struck out
looking. J Jennings struck out swinging. M Loretta popped out to first.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 1, MILWAUKEE 3.

MILWAUKEE 7TH: G Jenkins safe at first on error by first baseman M Lamb.
C Counsell flied out to right. G Gross hit for C Villanueva. G Jenkins to second
on wild pitch by J Jennings. G Gross walked. G Jenkins to third, G Gross to
second on wild pitch by J Jennings. C Hart struck out swinging. J Hardy
intentionally walked. R Braun grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop,
J Hardy out at second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) HOUSTON 1, MILWAUKEE 3.

HOUSTON 8TH: D Turnbow relieved C Villanueva. H Pence struck out swinging,
H Pence safe at first on wild pitch by D Turnbow. L Berkman grounded out to
pitcher, H Pence to second. C Lee struck out looking. M Lamb popped out to
shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 1, MILWAUKEE 3.

MILWAUKEE 8TH: S Randolph relieved J Jennings. P Fielder homered to center.
B Hall doubled to deep right center. J Estrada doubled to left, B Hall
scored. G Jenkins doubled to deep right, J Estrada to third. C Counsell
struck out swinging. T Graffanino hit for D Turnbow. D Borkowski relieved
S Randolph. T Graffanino hit sacrifice fly to center, J Estrada scored, G Jenkins
to third. C Hart grounded out to shortstop. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors)
HOUSTON 1, MILWAUKEE 6.

HOUSTON 9TH: C Spurling relieved D Turnbow. C Burke popped out to second.
E Munson popped out to second. O Palmeiro hit for E Bruntlett. O Palmeiro
singled to center. L Scott hit for D Borkowski. O Palmeiro to second on wild
pitch by C Spurling. L Scott walked. M Loretta struck out swinging. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 1, MILWAUKEE 6.</div>

 

Sheets carries Brewers past Astros

<h3>MILWAUKEE 6, HOUSTON 1</h3>MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- On the day the team signed 2007first-round draft pick Matt LaPorta, the Milwaukee Brewers "homegrown" flavor gave the new guy something to aim for.

Led by six innings from starter Ben Sheets (1st round, 1999) andRBI from J.J. Hardy (2nd, 2001), Corey Hart (11th round, 2000),Ryan Braun (1st, 2005) and Prince Fielder (1st, 2002),Milwaukee produced a 6-1 victory over the Houston Astros onMonday.

Sheets (9-3) yielded one run and five hits with five strikeoutsand three walks en route to recording his fifth straight winningdecision. The righthander has been stellar against Houston,allowing just three runs in 13 frames to pick up two wins thisseason.

"It wasn't a good first inning, but it was good enough," saidSheets, who threw 27 pitches in the first. "I felt like when Igot in the zone I made some pretty good pitches. I don't reallycare if it wasn't pretty. The home run was the only damage."

Sheets has won each of his last five decisions, dating back toMay 29, putting up All-Star numbers despite a dip in hishistorically outstanding strikeout tallies.

"When you don't strike people out, you're not dominant in theeyes of everybody," Sheets said. "Pitching well, I don't thinkit matters (if I'm dominant), if I don't give up runs and don'tgive up baserunners. Strikeouts don't get you wins, but theycan get you out of big moments."

Hardy, playing for the first time in four games after nursingback tightness, homered in the first inning to spot Milwaukee anearly lead and Fielder's league-leading 27th home run - a434-foot blast to center - gave the Brewers insurance in theeighth.

"Carlos (Lee) helped me a lot when he was here, hittinglefthanders," Fielder said. "He would always yell at me if theybrought (a lefthander) in and they walk him, he would say Ibetter get a hit."

After surging unexpectedly to 15 home runs in the season's firsttwo months, Hardy hit his 18th homer of the season againstHouston starter Jason Jennings (1-2). Hart's RBI single scoredCraig Counsell in the third preceded by Braun's run-scoringdouble for a 3-0 edge.

Lee delivered his 13th homer of the year and first againstMilwaukee since being traded by the Brewers last July, puttingthe Astros on the board in the sixth. It was the only runsurrendered by Sheets (9-3).

Milwaukee relievers Carlos Villanueva, Derrick Turnbow and ChrisSpurling held Houston scoreless the rest of the way.

Craig Biggio, who entered the series four hits shy of 3,000 inhis career, did not play and was expected to see his only actionof the series Tuesday.

LaPorta, the seventh overall selection in the 2007 draft, tookbatting practice with the team before the game and was inattendance with his parents for the victory. The University ofFlorida product was a two-time Southeast Conference Player ofthe Year. Nine players on the current roster were originallydrafted by Milwaukee.

Jennings allowed three runs and five hits in seven inning in hisfirst career setback against Milwaukee. He fanned five andissues four free passes

"(Jennings) got stretched out a little bit and went deep in thegame," Astros manager Phil Garner said. "It was much needed forus, but it's one of those things where we wish we could win theballgame for him. We need him to step up and be a big No. 2 forus and he pitched like it."

"He was hitting his spots pretty well and definitely wasn'tgiving in," Braun said. "He just made a couple mistakes and wewere able to take advantage of them."