Morning State Sports Briefs: Brewers will still be in first when Twins come to town

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MILWAUKEE - Despite losing their last two Interleague series, the Milwaukee Brewers remain in first place in the National League Central Division.

The Brewers lost at home yesterday to Tampa Bay, 6-3 at Miller Park. It was Milwaukee’s fourth loss in six games against American League clubs. And things won’t get any easier when one of baseball’s hottest teams, the Minnesota Twins, come to Miller Park tomorrow night. Still, the Brewers have a half-game lead over second-place Saint Louis. The Cardinals are reeling without their injured All-Star Albert Pujols, and they dropped their second straight to Philadelphia at home last night, 4-0. The Central could again turn out to be the National League’s weakest division. Milwaukee has the lowest winning percentage among the three division leaders at .539 – although the Brewers’ 41 victories match that of West leader Arizona.

Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke is questioning the fairness of the Interleague schedule. He says something’s wrong when a team has to play the American League’s two winningest clubs, both on the road. The Brewers dropped 2-of-3 at Boston last weekend, and they’ll play at Yankee Stadium next week. Roenicke also says Minnesota has been a thorn in Milwaukee’s side each year. The Twins snapped an eight-game winning streak last night with a 5-1 loss at San Francisco. The Brewers are off today for the first time in three weeks.

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Shaun Marcum escaped with a no-decision in yesterday’s 6-3 Brewers’ home loss to Tampa Bay. Marcum tried to rush his way back from a strained left hip flexor suffered just six nights ago. The Brewers put him on a short leash. Marcum threw 54 pitches in three innings, giving up a two-run homer to Kelly Shoppach. The game was tied at two when he left. The Rays scored the deciding run in the sixth inning on a single by B.J. Upton off Marco Estrada, who went three innings and took the loss. He’s now 1-5. Tampa pulled away in the seventh with a three-run homer by Elliot Johnson off Tim Dillard. David Price got the win, striking out 10 in eight innings. He’s 8-6. Prince Fielder went 2-for-4. Ryan Braun had an RBI-single, extending his career-high hitting streak to 14 games. The Brewers have now lost seven-of-their-last-10, while the Rays left town with their fourth win in five contests.

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Most of the Northwoods League schedule was washed out last night, as heavy rainstorms continued to pound the Upper Midwest. Only one game was played. The Madison Mallards were shut out at Waterloo 9-0 – and that contest only lasted six innings due to rain. Cameron Booser took the loss for Madison, giving up seven runs in just two innings. La Crosse had a double-header rained out at Battle Creek. They’ll make up the two games August second-and-third. The Wisconsin Woodchucks were rained out at Wisconsin Rapids, and Eau Claire had a washout at home against Green Bay. No make-up dates were immediately announced for either of those two contests.

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A defensive back from Florida has become the sixth player to commit to the Wisconsin football team for 2012. Hugsanly "Hugs" Etienne, a corner from Plantation, Florida said he was attracted to UW-Madison by its award-winning engineering program. The 5-11 Etienne, who has a 3.70 GPA, said the Badgers want him to stay at a corner – and the coaches told him he has great coverage and great footwork. Badgers’ coach Bret Bielema has been lining up his following year’s recruiting class faster than normal. Others who’ve committed to Wisconsin for next year are quarterback Bart Houston, running back Vonte Jackson, offensive linemen Dan Voltz and Kyle Dodson, and linebacker Vince Biegel.

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Luis Feliciano of Milwaukee won his quarter-final bout yesterday at the USA Boxing Championships in Colorado Springs. The 123-pounder dominated in a 26-8 win over Joshua McShane of Hawaii. Feliciano’s victory assured him a spot at the upcoming U.S. Olympic Trials.

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