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Brewers pound out 13 hits to win rubber game vs. Tigers

Jun 14, 2007 - 10:02 PM DETROIT (Ticker) -- Corey Hart and the Milwaukee Brewers continued to thrive in the aftermath of Justin Verlander's no-hitter.

Hart had a homer and an RBI single as the Brewers held on for a 6-5 triumph over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday in the rubber game of a three-game interleague series.

The victory came two days after Verlander became the fifth pitcher in Tigers franchise history to toss a no-hitter. The flame-throwing righthander struck out 12 to pace Detroit to a 4-0 triumph in the series opener.

But Milwaukee responded with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory Wednesday and followed that up with another impressive performance in Thursday's matinee contest, pounding out 13 hits to improve to 4-5 in interleague play this season.

"It was really great to get these wins," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "Especially, against a good offensive team like the Tigers. They are a very special team."

"We've been on a downslide lately," Hart added. "But to win two against a team like this is a real confidence booster."

Johnny Estrada had two singles and an RBI double while Geoff Jenkins, Tony Graffanino and rookie Ryan Braun each added two hits for the Brewers, who have collected a total of 24 hits in the two games since being shut down by Verlander.

"It was really good to take these last two games," Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy said. "It was about time that something went our way for a change. Lets hope we can build on these wins."

Milwaukee provided plenty of support for starter Ben Sheets (7-3), who yielded three runs and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings to win his third straight decision. The righthander walked three and had seven strikeouts - including the 1,000th of his career.

"Getting the strikeout was good," said Sheets, who joined Teddy Higuera as the only pitchers in Brewers franchise history to record 1,000 strikeouts. "But it's really not that high compared to what others have. I never thought that I would be a strikeout pitcher."

Milwaukee lefthander Brian Shouse recorded the final out of the sixth inning, and righthanders Chris Spurling and Derrick Turnbow each worked a scoreless frame.

Francisco Cordero recorded his major league-leading 24th save despite surrendering two runs in the ninth.

After yielding a pair of singles and an RBI double to start the inning, Cordero retired Shawn Casey on a run-scoring groundout before striking out Craig Monroe and Mike Rabelo to preserve the win.

"It was a tough one-out situation," Cordero said. "A run could score in any way to tie the game. I'm a strikeout pitcher and I used my best pitches to get (Monroe) out."

"We had a shot," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "We just didn't quite get it done. I become prouder and prouder of these guys by the day. We were obviously shorthanded today, and the guys we put in there did a good job, battled their tails off."

The Brewers took the lead for good in the second inning when Hart ripped an RBI single to make it 1-0.

Braun plated Graffanino with a sacrifice fly in the fourth to double the advantage, and Estrada roped his run-scoring double in the fifth to make it 3-0. Jenkins scored later in the frame thanks to a balk by Detroit lefthander Wil Ledezma.

The Tigers plated three runs in the fifth to draw within 4-3, but Braun scored on a wild pitch in the following frame to give the Brewers a two-run cushion.

Hart added what turned out to be a vital insurance run in the eighth with his fifth homer of the season, a solo blast off righthander Jason Grilli.

"I never thought that when I hit that homer that it would be such a big run," Hart said.

Detroit starter Chad Durbin (5-3) lasted just 3 2/3 frames, allowing two runs and eight hits with two walks and no strikeouts.

"I got behind in some counts and some balls up," Durbin said. "Our offense is good enough to keep it close but when I get behind, the more pitches they see, the better it is for them. The team didn't give up though, they kept battling back."

Gary Sheffield had three hits while Magglio Ordonez added two hits and three RBI for the Tigers, who finished their six-game homestand with a 3-3 record.