Afternoon News Briefs - Brewers beat Saint Louis this afternoon- barely

• Image

Talk about it

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Brewers almost blew a 4-0 lead this afternoon, and they barely hung on to beat the Saint Louis Cardinals 4-3 at Miller Park.

The Brewers were up by two in the ninth when the team’s new closer, Francisco Rodriguez, loaded the bases and then walked David Freese with two out to make it a one run game. Lance Berkman then flied out to left to end it. The Brewers scored all their runs in the first inning, the first two on a single by Corey Hart. The Cardinals committed three errors two of them on one play that scored Milwaukee’s final runs. Shortstop Rafael Furcal committed a throwing error that allowed Carlos Gomez to reach first. Berkman caught the ball after he got pulled off the bag, but he dropped it and the error allowed Corey Hart and Aramis Ramirez to score at the end of the play. Freese and Allen Craig hit solo homers off Brewers’ rookie starter Tyler Thornburg who has now given up seven blasts in his first three Major League appearances. Thornburg lasted four and two thirds innings, giving up two runs on five hits with four walks and five strikeouts. John Axford who lost his job yesterday as the Brewers’ closer followed Thornburg and pitched one and a third scoreless innings. Axford got the win to improve to 3-6. Rodriguez earned his third save of the year, and Number 294 for his career. Adam Wainwright took the loss. He struck out nine in seven innings, as he fell to 7-10. The Brewers took 2-3 from the Cardinals. The Cards have dropped five of their last six, but they’re still two and a half games ahead of fourth place Milwaukee in the National League Central. The Brewers are off tomorrow, and will play at division-leading Cincinnati on Friday night.

__________________________________________________________________________

Ryan Braun is getting two days to rest his lingering groin injury. He was not in the starting lineup when the Milwaukee Brewers were playing the Saint Louis Cardinals this afternoon at Miller Park. And the Brewers are off tomorrow, which gives Braun a chance to recover before Milwaukee opens a series at division leading Cincinnati on Friday night. Braun aggravated a strained groin last night while chasing down a long fly ball in the Brewers’ one run victory over the Cardinals. He said after the game that the groin had been bothering him to some degree for most of the season, after it surfaced at spring training. Rookie right-hander Tyler Thornburg was to start for Milwaukee this afternoon in place of Zack Greinke, who’s skipping his normal turn after pitching in three consecutive games just before and after the All Star break. Also, the Brewers’ latest infielder Jeff Bianchi was starting at short today. Milwaukee is going for its fourth win in six games since the All Star break. But they have not been able to gain much ground in the playoff chase. Milwaukee is six and a half games back for a National League Wild Card spot, and eight games behind Cincinnati in the NL Central. The Brewers are locked into fourth place in the division at the moment. They remain three and a half behind the third place Cardinals even though Saint Louis has lost four of its last five.

___________________________________________________________________________

After a night off, the Class “A” Midwest League returns to action this evening. Western Division teams continue to face their counterparts from the East. The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers will host Great Lakes at Fox Cities Stadium near Appleton. The Beloit Snappers are also at home against Lansing. Clinton plays at Dayton. Peoria is at West Michigan. South Bend entertains Burlington. Fort Wayne is at Cedar Rapids. Lake County plays at Quad Cities. And Bowling Green hosts West leader Kane County which has a one game advantage over second place Burlington. Lansing, the first half champion, is back on top in the East by a game over Bowling Green.

__________________________________________________________________________

It might be easier for you to buy a Packer ticket outside of Lambeau Field on game days. A committee in Ashwaubenon has recommended scrapping a 15 year old ordinance that limits the resale of Packer tickets in the village’s jurisdiction to the east and south of the stadium. Public Safety Chief Eric Dunning says the law has become too hard to enforce. Sellers must register with the village and pay $800.00, undergo background checks, wear ID tags, and sell their tickets only in designated areas. The chief says he doesn’t have the officers to adequately enforce the measure. Also, he said technology has changed and more fans are buying tickets from brokers online. Even the NFL has an arrangement with Ticketmaster that lets fans buy seats above face value online.

___________________________________________________________________________

The British Open won’t be the only golf on TV this weekend. Green Bay Packers Aaron Rodgers and A.J. Hawk will play in the celebrity filled American Century Championship, starting Friday at Lake Tahoe. They joined actor Brian Baumgartner in shooting a practice round yesterday. Much of the three round tournament will be televised by NBC

Tags: wisconsin sports, sports, brewers