• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Rivera, Kapler spark Brewers to dramatic win

Aug 10, 2008 - 11:42 PM By David Cotey PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- Mike Rivera made the most of a rare opportunity.

The backup catcher delivered a three-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning and Gabe Kapler hit a walk-off home run in the 13th as the surging Milwaukee Brewers rallied for a 5-4 victory over the Washington Nationals on Sunday.

Rivera's hit, which tied the game, 4-4, erased a disastrous top of the eighth for Brewers reliever Eric Gagne, who surrendered three runs on back-to-back home runs by Austin Kearns and Lastings Milledge. Gagne saw his ERA balloon to 6.98.

However, Kapler ended the marathon with his first career walk-off homer off the foul pole on a 2-2 pitch from Luis Ayala (1-8). Ironically, Kapler started in place of All-Star left fielder Ryan Braun, who was scratched at the last minute due to back tightness.

"It just kind of happened," Kapler said. "It's gratifying. At first, I thought it was going to stay fair for sure, but it had a little lean to it. I wasn't positive it was going to stay fair. I'm glad it did."

Ayala is 0-7 with a 7.47 ERA since May 1.

"It's very surprising," Nationals manager Manny Acta said. "He's been struggling on and off all season, mostly on. You can't even hide him now. He's not making pitches."

Guillermo Mota (3-5) pitched a scoreless inning for the win as the Brewers posted their fifth straight victory. They will look to sweep the four-game series Monday.

The Brewers, who stranded 16 runners, drew 13 walks, but only two of them scored.

"Rivera had a great day, and Gabe capped it off with the big home run," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "It was a good ballgame all the way around. We had opportunities in the eighth, the ninth, the 10th. We had opportunities every inning, we just couldn't capitalize on them. It was nice to finally get that game over."

In the bottom of the eighth, Nationals reliever Saul Rivera gave up a single to Bill Hall and walked Mike Cameron to load the bases. Joel Hanrahan, Washington's closer, then served up a double to Rivera, who was making just his 13th start this season.

"I've been patient all year, just waiting for my moment," Rivera said. "I only had like 50 at-bats (now 54) and I was not feeling like part of the team. Today, it feels great, and I was very happy about it."

Rivera added three walks and a single to raise his batting average to .333 and his on-base percentage to .400 in limited action.

"He threw two fastballs away and tried to come in with a slider," he said. "I don't have that many chances to be the hero. It feels great."

Unable to match teammates CC Sabathia's and Ben Sheets' back-to-back shutouts in the first two games of the series, Brewers starter Manny Parra did the next best thing. The 25-year-old lefthander allowed one run over seven innings and tied a career high with nine strikeouts in his first start since Monday's altercation with teammate Prince Fielder in the dugout.

"That was a goal of mine today, keep down the walks," Parra said. "They swing the bat a lot, put the ball in play, which worked out well. The way it's been going, it's all about competition. You don't want to be the one to let it down."

Nationals starter John Lannan took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He allowed just one hit and one unearned run over six innings with five walks and six strikeouts.

"I felt good," said Lannan, who lowered his ERA to a rotation-best 3.40. "I got behind a lot, but everything was working in certain situations, but it was sporadic."

Washington ended a 27-inning scoreless drought in the sixth inning on Milledge's RBI single off Parra that made it 1-0. The single extended Milledge's career-best hitting streak to 11 games and delivered the Nationals their first run since the fifth inning of a 6-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.