Brewers stay perfect with comeback win over D-Backs

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- The Milwaukee Brewers are more confident than

they've been in a while and having more early success than they've

had in almost 20 years.

Carlos Lee knocked in J.J. Hardy with an RBI single in the ninth

to give the Brewers a 5-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on

Saturday. Milwaukee is now 5-0 for the first time since 1987 and

just the third time in franchise history.

"Were expecting to win every time we go out there," said

Hardy, who had three hits. "It's a much different feeling than

last year when we didn't expect to win all the time."

With one out in the ninth, Hardy doubled down the left-field

line off of Diamondback reliever Luis Vizcaino (0-1). Geoff Jenkins

was walked intentionally to put runners at first and second. On a

1-2 pitch, Lee lined a single to center and Hardy beat Eric Byrnes'

throw to the plate.

"I've got two strikes on me and I'm just trying to put the ball

in play," said Lee, who is hitting .467 this season. "I've been

having some pretty good success so far this season and today it

really paid off."

Vizcaino said the pitch to Lee was a fastball that was supposed

to be outside, but caught too much of the plate.

"He is hitting the ball good," Vizcaino said.

All five of the Brewers' wins this season have been by two runs

or less, and they have come from behind in each one. They were down

3-0 against Arizona before coming back.

"If you want to be playing in October, you have to win the

close ones," Lee said. "We ain't going to win them all. But if we

keep playing the way we're playing, we're going to win a lot of

them."

Brewers manager Ned Yost was pleased that Arizona manager Bob

Melvin decided to walk Jenkins and pitch to Lee.

"I don't think there is a guy I would more want to see up there

in that situation than Carlos because he has been swinging the bat

so well," Yost said.

Milwaukee's increased confidence is apparent even to its

opponents.

"What are they, 5-0?" Arizona's Luis Gonzalez said. "You have

got a team like that, and they start believing in themselves. They

keep coming back. They keep fighting. That's a Ned Yost-type

ballclub."

The other key for Milwaukee was its bullpen. After starter Doug

Davis struggled through five innings, giving up four runs, four

relievers pitched four scoreless innings, giving us just two

singles.

Dan Kolb (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to get the win.

"The bullpen was top-notch today," Yost said. "The bullpen

really held us right there until we could battle back and score

some runs."

Brandon Webb started for the Diamondbacks and pitched six

innings, giving up four runs and nine hits.

Damion Easley's two-out, two-run single in the first inning

after Arizona loaded the bases gave the Diamondbacks a 2-0 lead.

Gonzalez's second home run of the year gave the Diamondbacks a

3-0 lead in the third. Gonzalez's home run landed in the right

center-field concourse, almost hitting one of the Brewers' racing

sausages.

The Brewers cut the lead to 3-1 on Lee's broken bat double down

the right field line. Hardy, who had singled, scored on the play.

Prince Fielder, the Brewers' highly touted first baseman and son of

former major leaguer Cecil Fielder, hit his first home run of the

year in the fourth inning to trim the lead to 3-2.

Conor Jackson's two-out RBI single in the fifth inning scored

Craig Counsell and extended Arizona's lead to 4-2.

The Brewers tied the game at 4 in the sixth inning on Gabe

Gross' pinch-hit, two-run single. It was Gross' second pinch hit of

the season as he hit a two-run home run Tuesday against

Pittsburgh.Game notes
Brewers RHP Ben Sheets will make his second rehabilitation

start with Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday against Iowa. In his first

rehab start on April 6, Sheets pitched 2 2-3 innings for the

Brewers' Double-A Huntsville. He gave up four hits and two runs.

... Fielder had three hits in the game, the first time he has

accomplished that in his career. Coming into the game, he had two

hits in the first four games of the season.