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Reynolds' blast helps Diamondbacks defeat Brewers

Jul 19, 2007 - 4:40 AM MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- Rookie Mark Reynolds took it upon himself to end the Arizona Diamondbacks' long road skid.

Reynolds hit a majestic three-run homer off Grant Balfour in the eighth inning Wednesday, leading the Diamondbacks to a 5-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Scott Hairston and Chris Snyder each had run-scoring singles for Arizona, which had lost three straight overall and seven in a row on the road.

"The tone of the game was basically the same (as yesterday)," Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said. "We get a lead, they come back, and now it's a grind down there. One hit is the difference in a game like this, and today we got it."

The blast made a winner of Tony Pena (4-2), who provided two innings of scoreless relief. Closer Jose Valverde worked a scoreless ninth to notch his 28th save in 31 opportunities.

The outcome also snapped Milwaukee's four-game winning streak.

Making his first major league appearance in nearly three years, Balfour (0-1) retired the first two batters in the eighth with the game tied at 2-2. But he hit Eric Byrnes with a pitch and walked Conor Jackson to set the stage for Reynolds, who launched a 2-2 offering over the left field wall for a 5-2 lead.

"Balfour threw a couple sliders before that, and maybe he was trying to sneak a fastball past me around the middle of the plate, and I was able to take advantage of it," Reynolds said. "I was spread out looking for something in the zone and got a good swing up there."

"I was a little bit uncomfortable at times," Balfour said. "I left a fastball over the plate, and it was frustrating. One good pitch makes it a good outing, another pitch makes it a not-so-good outing. I'm not very happy."

It was a hard-luck return for Balfour, who had his contract purchased from Class AAA Nashville on Tuesday. He was making his first appearance since October 3, 2004, when he was a member of the Minnesota Twins. Derailed by arm surgeries, the Australian missed the entire 2005 season and most of 2006 before Milwaukee claimed him off waivers late last year.

"Grant did pretty good for the first time back in the big leagues," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "You can get anxious a little bit. With that arm surgery, he fought his way back, and you hate to see him get hit his first time back."

Reynolds' blast overshadowed a superb pitching duel between starters Chris Capuano and Doug Davis, teammates with the Brewers last year and virtual neighbors in Arizona.

Capuano tossed seven strong innings, yielding only two runs, four hits and two walks. The lefthander, who has not won in his last 10 starts, also struck out five.

Capuano, who made his major league debut in 2003 with Arizona, is 0-6 since recording a victory on May 7.

"We've been watching a lot of video, trying to work some things out and made a little adjustment," Capuano said. "I've been working on staying more balanced before I deliver the pitch. It really helps with the command."

Davis was also impressive, allowing two runs, three hits and five walks in six innings. The lefthander, who spent the previous three-plus seasons with Milwaukee, was looking for just his third win in his last nine starts.

"It was pretty intense," Davis said of his first start against his old club. "I knew the guys could swing the bat, so I tried to get strike one and expand the zone. A lot of the guys that came up as rookies last year and the year before, I watched them develop. It's a good team, and (Cappy) was on top of his game."

Arizona struck first in the fourth inning. With one out, Brewers right fielder Kevin Mench slipped trying to catch a fly ball off the bat of Byrnes, who wound up at second base with a double.

Two batters later, Hairston singled up the middle to plate Byrnes and give the Diamondbacks a 1-0 edge. Snyder followed with another run-scoring base hit to right, doubling the lead.

Mench atoned for his miscue in the bottom of the frame. After rookie Ryan Braun led off with walk, Mench hammered a 1-0 pitch from Davis into the second deck in left to knot the contest at 2-2. It was Mench's sixth homer of the season.

One day after recording three hits, Byrnes was on base all four times Wednesday. He collected his third double and fourth stolen base of the four-game series, which concludes Thursday afternoon.

All-Star Prince Fielder had two hits for the Brewers, who put runners on base in five of the first six innings but only came away with a pair of runs.

"Right now, we're just not really swinging the bats great," Yost said. "We're swinging well to score a run or two here and there, and our pitching has been very, very good. It allows us to win some ballgames, but you have to start scoring a few more runs here in the near future."