Recap: Cincinnati vs. Milwaukee
Sports Network | September 21, 2008
Cincinnati, OH (Sports Network) - Prince Fielder went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and three RBI as the Milwaukee Brewers took a much-needed 8-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in the finale of a three-game set at Great American Ball Park.
J.J. Hardy went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while Corey Hart drove in a pair of runs for the Brewers, who snapped a three-game slide. Seth McClung started on the mound, but went just 3 1/3 innings after giving up one run on two hits with four walks. Todd Coffey (1-0) got the win for recording two outs in the fourth.
The win, just the fifth in 20 games this month for Milwaukee, moves the team to within 1 1/2 games of New York, which lost to Atlanta, in the NL Wild Card spot.
Danny Richar drove in the lone run while Bronson Arroyo (15-11) went six innings and gave up six runs -- five earned -- on six hits with three walks and eight strikeouts for the Reds, who had won six of seven coming in.
Milwaukee grabbed the lead in the second inning as Fielder led off the frame with a blast over the right-center wall, his 33rd of the season.
The Brewers extended their lead in the fourth inning. Craig Counsell and Ryan Braun started the frame with back-to-back singles and both were driven home when Fielder followed with a double to right. After Hardy's sac bunt moved Fielder to third, Hart lofted a sacrifice fly to left for a 4-0 lead.
The Reds got a run back in the bottom of the fourth on Richar's groundout that scored Andy Phillips to make it a 4-1 game.
However, Milwaukee plated two more runs in the fifth. With the bases loaded and one out, Braun hit a grounder to second that Jeff Keppinger fielded and tossed over to Richar, who fielded the ball but threw it away attempting to turn the double play and two runners scored for a 6-1 lead.
The Brewers padded their lead in the eighth on a sacrifice fly from Hart that scored Hardy for a 7-1 advantage.
Hardy's RBI single in the ninth that plated Braun accounted for the final score.
Milwaukee, which closed out its road schedule with a record of 41-40, returns home to face Pittsburgh for three games starting on Tuesday...Cincinnati went 10-8 against Milwaukee this season and plays Florida at home on Monday...Fielder went 17-for-38 with five home runs and 14 RBI on the 10-game road trip, which Milwaukee went 2-8 on the road trip.
