|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- It just keeps getting better for Ben Sheets.
|  | | Ben Sheets is 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA in four starts since returning from a brief stint in the minors. |
The Milwaukee rookie won his fourth straight start and was
backed by home runs by Jeromy Burnitz and Jose Hernandez as the
Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 Sunday.
Sheets (4-2) allowed one run and four hits, including a solo
home run by Brian Giles in the sixth inning. He struck out three
and walked two.
"It feels great," Sheets said. "You can't say enough about
how our guys field the ball. They made spectacular plays, they make
the routine plays, they make every play."
Sheets, who shut out Cuba to win the Olympic gold medal for the
United States in Sydney, is 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA in four starts
since returning from a brief stint in the minors.
"He just gets better and better," Milwaukee manager Davey
Lopes said. "That's good news for us and bad news for the
opposition. He pitched seven quality innings today."
The only blemish was a change-up that Giles hit for the only
Pittsburgh run.
"Other than that, he pitched a great game," Lopes said.
Pittsburgh manager Lloyd McClendon was disappointed in his
team's offensive output after the record dropped to 1-6 on their
eight-game road trip.
"Five hits and one run won't get the job done," he said.
"(Sheets) certainly wasn't dominating. He was pitching from behind
quite a bit, but he made some good pitches when he had to. We had
our opportunities against him.
"Sooner or later somebody will get the big hit and break loose.
I keep telling the guys they've got positive track records. We're a
lot better offensive team than we've presented so far."
After Sheets was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the seventh,
relievers Chad Fox, Ray King and Curtis Leskanic combined to
preserve the victory.
Burnitz hit a 418-foot home run, his 12th of the season, to open
the scoring in the second inning against Jimmy Anderson (2-3).
The Brewers made it 3-0 in the fourth. Burnitz walked, Richie
Sexson singled and Angel Echevarria walked to load the bases with
none out. Hernandez hit an RBI single and Henry Blanco added a
sacrifice fly.
Hernandez, who went 3-for-3 with two RBI, added a solo homer in
the sixth, his ninth, to make it 4-1.
"That was huge," Sheets said. "It was huge for our team to
get that run back right away."
Anderson allowed four runs and six hits in seven innings. He
struck out two and walked two.
"It's frustrating to keep losing," Anderson said. "We get
hits and leave baserunners. When we get some runs, we don't get the
pitching. We just have to keep grinding it out."
Game notes
Milwaukee rookie RHP Allen Levrault, who got his first
victory in relief last week against the Cubs, will get his first
start Tuesday in Philadelphia. ... Milwaukee 2B Ronnie Belliard is
in a 0-for-21 slump, dropping his average to .240. ... Blanco is
10-for-15 in throwing out basestealers after getting 1B John Wehner
trying to steal second in the second inning. ... Pittsburgh 3B Aramis Ramirez was hit twice on his left leg in one at-bat. He
fouled a pitch off his shin and was hit on the thigh on the next
pitch. ... Pittsburgh CF Emil Brown left the game in the sixth with
a strain in his lower back. ... Hernandez is 3-for-5 this season
and 24-for-72 in his career with the bases loaded. Since joining
the Brewers in 2000, he is 11-for-20 with the bases loaded with
three grand slams and 31 RBI.
 Send this story to a friend
| |
RECAPS
Boston 5
Oakland 4
Tampa Bay 7
Cleveland 0
Anaheim 14
Detroit 2
Baltimore 10
NY Yankees 5
Seattle 7
Toronto 5
Chi. White Sox 6
Texas 3
Minnesota 7
Kansas City 3
Milwaukee 4
Pittsburgh 1
St. Louis 13
Chicago Cubs 4
Montreal 14
Colorado 10
San Francisco 6
NY Mets 3
Los Angeles 3
Atlanta 1
Arizona 6
Philadelphia 1
Florida 10
San Diego 4
Houston 4
Cincinnati 3
|
