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Thursday, May 10 1:05pm ET
Burnitz drives in six in 11-1 rout

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

MILWAUKEE (AP) – After grounding out to first four times Wednesday night, Jeromy Burnitz just wanted to get the ball into the air.

Oh, he got air all right.


	Jeromy Burnitz drives a two-run homer in the fifth inning.

Burnitz hit three home runs Thursday, including the first ever to clear the Miller Park windows, and had six RBI as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 11-1.

"You always dream about hitting the ball good," Burnitz said. "Three home runs is something I've never done before. What else can I say? It was a really good day."

Devon White added a grand slam, Tony Fernandez had a pinch-hit RBI single and Allen Levrault (1-0) got his first career victory. Mike DeJean pitched the final three innings for his first save.

Burnitz is the fifth player this season -- and the second Brewers slugger -- to homer three times in one game. Teammate Geoff Jenkins did it on April 28, hitting three against Montreal.

The fans gave Burnitz a standing ovation after his third home run, a solo shot in the sixth inning. They remained on their feet, clapping and yelling for the slugger until he popped out of the dugout, waving.

"It's definitely a thrill and it's a great feeling when you get a curtain call," said Burnitz, the eighth Brewer to homer three times in a game.

"For guys like Sammy (Sosa), they're like an every other day occurrence. For the rest of us, they don't happen that often, so it is something to remember."

	Mad Bombers
	Here is a rundown of this season's three-home run games:
	Jeromy Burnitz, Brewers, May 10 vs. Cubs
	Geoff Jenkins, Brewers, April 28 vs. Expos
	Carlos Delgado, Blue Jays, April 20 vs. Royals
	Todd Hollandsworth, Rockies, April 15 vs. Diamondbacks
	Aramis Ramirez, Pirates, April 8 vs. Astros
	Carlos Delgado, Blue Jays, April 4 vs. Devil Rays

Burnitz didn't get another at-bat and a chance for a fourth homer. His six RBI were one shy of his career high.

Toronto's Carlos Delgado, Pittsburgh's Aramis Ramirez and Colorado's Todd Hollandsworth are the other players with three-homer games this year. Delgado has done it twice.

The only damper on the homerfest was the early exit of right-hander Mark Leiter.

Leiter, who pitched just 1 1/3 innings in the majors in 1999 and then missed all of last season after shoulder surgery, left the game after 1 2/3 innings with a strained right biceps.

"I had nothing on the ball and I literally felt like something was going to tear," said Leiter, who will be re-evaluated Friday. "It's a horrible feeling. I wanted to run my head into a wall.

"To come this far, and to get an opportunity to be starting and throwing and feeling the way I do, I'm depressed. It's sad and I feel horrible."

Levrault relieved Leiter and gave up one run -- a solo home run to Sosa -- and three hits in 3 2/3 innings.

Julian Tavarez (3-2), making his second start after serving a five-game suspension for his role in a spring training brawl, allowed five runs and six hits in five innings.

"It's just one of those days," Tavarez said. "You're missing the location and you're not going to get away with that."

Burnitz doesn't let the Cubs get away with anything. Since the 2000 season began, he has nine home runs against the Cubs. His 20 career homers against Chicago are almost twice as many as he's got against any other team (Pittsburgh, 11).

"Everybody usually has their teams they perform really well against, but I don't really have much explanation for it," Burnitz said. "Yeah, they've made some mistakes, and fortunately, I've capitalized on them."

He got the Brewers on the board early Thursday with a three-run homer to right in the first inning, breaking an 0-for-6 slump. It was the first homer Tavarez had given up all year, and Burnitz's ninth of the season.

That was all the offense the Brewers needed, but Burnitz wasn't done. Far from it. With two outs in the fifth inning, he launched a two-run shot off Tavarez that hit the right-field concourse, bounced and flew through the open windows.

"The second one, I crushed," Burnitz said. "I hit it as good as I can hit the ball."

In the sixth inning, Cubs reliever Manny Aybar gave up a run on pinch-hitter Tony Fernandez's single to short center. He then loaded the bases by walking James Mouton, and was relieved by Felix Heredia.

But Heredia's luck wasn't any better. With two outs, White took the first pitch he saw and sent it over the left-center wall for the ninth grand slam of his career. It was his third homer this season.

White had barely made his way back to the dugout when Burnitz homered again, sending a 1-1 pitch into the right-field bleachers.

"Our club can hit home runs no matter who they're facing," Brewers manager Davey Lopes said. "They strike out a lot, but they are very dangerous every single time they come to the plate. So it doesn't surprise me when they do what they did today. Not at all."

Game notes
Burnitz finished 3-for-4. He has 11 multihomer games in his career. ... Sosa's homer gives him 398 for his career, tying him with Dale Murphy for 34th in major league history. ... The Brewers have hit back-to-back homers five times already this season, matching their 2000 total ... Milwaukee has yet to lose a day game at Miller Park.