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Brewers waver, but rally to beat Mets in 9th

Aug 21, 2011 - 2:42 AM Flushing, NY (Sports Network) - Casey McGehee's two-run single in the ninth capped a four-run Milwaukee rally to help the club take an 11-9 win over the New York Mets in a seesaw affair at Citi Field.

Prince Fielder hit a three-run homer and drove in four while Ryan Braun and Yuniesky Betancourt both hit a two-run home run for the Brewers, who have won the first two games of this three-game set despite blowing a six-run lead on Saturday.

"I was just happy for the team cause that was a tough game," said Fielder. "We looked good early and had some fun early, then it got a little nervous out there. We were able to stay together and come back. I'm just proud of my team."

Francisco Rodriguez (5-2), who Milwaukee acquired in a trade with New York last month, got the win in his first appearance against his former team despite allowing the Mets to go ahead in the eighth with a three-run frame.

Milwaukee now leads St. Louis by 8 1/2 games for first place in the NL Central, the largest division lead for the club in team history.

Also, thanks to a 21-3 run since losing consecutive games on July 23-24, the Brewers stand at 75-52 and are 23 games over .500 for the first time since holding an 80-57 mark on September 1, 2008.

Angel Pagan went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer, Lucas Duda added a two-run pinch-hit double and Ruben Tejada doubled twice and scored twice for the Mets, who have dropped eight of their last 10.

The Brewers had blown a six-run lead between the seventh and eighth innings, but began their rally in the ninth off of Jason Isringhausen (3-3), who didn't retire any of the four batters he faced and was pulled after issuing a bases- loaded walk to Mark Kotsay.

"I can usually figure it out and I've been able to figure it out," said Isringhausen. "But today there was no figuring it out. I don't have an answer. It was just one of those days where everything fell apart."

Manny Acosta then took the mound and quickly induced a short fly-out to right field from Braun then had Fielder down in the count, but the burly slugger was able to dig out a low pitch and punch a single to right to tie the game. McGehee then plated two runs with a single to right.

John Axford had no trouble in the ninth as he set down the Mets in order for his 37th save of the season.

The Brewers built a 2-0 lead in the first when Jerry Hairston Jr. worked a one-out walk and Braun followed with a homer to dead center.

The Mets got one back in the home half of the frame off a single from Jason Bay that scored Justin Turner, who had doubled earlier.

However, the third inning saw Milwaukee take a 5-1 lead when Fielder smoked a pitch into the upper deck in right field, just inside the foul pole, with two men on for his 28th home run.

Milwaukee added two more runs to its lead in the sixth inning when Betancourt hit his 10th home run of the season.

The Mets began their comeback in the seventh with a five-run frame.

After consecutive singles to start the inning, Tejada doubled home one run and Willie Harris followed with a sacrifice fly. Later with the bases loaded and Takashi Saito on the mound, David Wright hit a grounder and beat out a potential inning-ending double play to score a run and Duda followed with a two-run double to make it a 7-6 game.

In the eighth, the Mets took their first lead of the game off of a familiar face in Rodriguez. With two outs, Tejada walked and Josh Thole followed with a double to tie the game. Pagan then made it a 9-7 game with his seventh home run of the season.

Neither starter factored into the decision as Randy Wolf was tagged for five run on eight hits over 6 1/3 innings for the Brewers while Chris Capuano gave up seven runs -- five earned -- on five hits in 5 2/3 innings for New York.

Game Notes

It was the seventh time this season that Braun and Fielder homered in the same game...During the game, smoke was seen billowing from behind the stadium due to a fire in a nearby junkyard....Pagan has reached base safely in 16 consecutive games...Axford has converted 34 straight save chances...The Brewers have now won three of the five games against the Mets this season.