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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Jose Hernandez loves to hit with men on base,
especially three of them.
|  | | Milwaukee's Jose Hernandez, right, drove in a career-high seven runs on Thursday. |
Hernandez hit a grand slam and a three-run homer to equal a
31-year-old team record with seven RBI Thursday as the Milwaukee
Brewers beat the Houston Astros 12-4.
"I see three guys on base and I just try to make contact,"
Hernandez said.
He hit .244 last year but was 8-for-15 with two homers and 23
RBI when batting with the bases loaded. This year, he's 2-for-2,
including a three-run double last Friday in the first game at
Miller Park.
"He looked like the MVP of the league in this game," Houston
manager Larry Dierker said.
Tyler Houston and Luis Lopez hit two-run homers for Milwaukee,
which had been 0-5 against the Astros this season.
"All the games we played against them were exciting,"
Hernandez said, "but they were hitting the ball better than us.
When they got a runner to second, they drove him in, and we didn't
do that."
Hernandez capped a five-run fifth that started with three walks
and a single against Octavio Dotel (1-1). After Dotel walked Jeromy
Burnitz with the bases loaded to make it 3-2, Nelson Cruz relieved
and struck out Houston, whose homer in the fourth had given the
Brewers a 2-1 lead.
"Dotel got kind of wild," Hernandez said. "He had struck me
out twice and then they had to change pitchers. That's where we
took advantage and started to score some runs."
Hernandez followed with a 386-foot homer to right-center that
made it 7-2. Hernandez also hit a three-run homer off Wayne
Franklin to cap a five-run sixth, matching the team RBI record set
by Ted Kubiak in 1970 at Boston.
Houston's homer in the fourth followed a leadoff walk to Burnitz
and followed a stretch in which the Brewers scored one run in 22
innings. All nine of Milwaukee's previous homers this year were
solo shots.
Lopez hit his two-run homer in the sixth after a leadoff walk to
Devon White.
White and Lopez, making their first starts of the season,
combined to go 5-for-9.
Jeff D'Amico (1-0) allowed three runs and six hits in six
innings and struck out six. Will Cunnane relieved to start the
seventh with a 12-3 lead. Cunnane Ray King and Mark Leiter pitched
one inning each to close out the game.
Richard Hidalgo's RBI double put the Astros ahead in the first.
Lance Berkman also tied to score but was thrown out by left fielder
Geoff Jenkins, who got his third assist this season with a throw to
shortstop that was relayed home by Jose Hernandez.
After Houston's homer gave Milwaukee a 2-1 lead, Julio Lugo made
it 2-2 with a solo homer in the fifth.
Jeff Bagwell was 4-for-4 with a solo home run in the eighth and
scored three runs. With six hits in two games, he raised his
average from .167 to .313.
"I had three cheap hits and one good one," Bagwell said. "It
was good last night because we won. It wasn't (today) because we
didn't win. Whatever I do offensively, it doesn't mean much if we
don't win."
Game notes
Jenkins went 3-for-5 after starting the game in a 0-for-10
slump. He raised his average from .118 to .184. ... Lopez and
Burnitz collided on a foul ball by Julio Lugo down the right-field
line in the fourth inning. Burnitz was able to make the catch as
both hit the ground. Neither was injured. ... D'Amico hit a two-out
triple in the fourth and Hidalgo slammed into the fence in
right-center field. After a brief delay, Hildago stayed in the
game. ... It was D'Amico's fifth hit of his career, giving him a
sort of cycle. He has one homer, one triple and one double. ...
Houston RHP Doug Brocail will make one more rehab start at Double-A
Round Rock on Saturday.
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RECAPS
Seattle 7
Oakland 3
Boston 8
Baltimore 2
Cleveland 5
Detroit 3
Kansas City 0
Toronto 0
Anaheim 13
Texas 3
Colorado 6
St. Louis 4
Milwaukee 12
Houston 4
San Diego 8
San Francisco 3
Cincinnati 11
Pittsburgh 6
NY Mets 1
Atlanta 0
Los Angeles 5
Arizona 4
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