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Bush takes no-hitter into eighth, Brewers beat Phillies

Apr 23, 2009 - 10:05 PM PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- After spending a few days relaxing at his parents' suburban house, Dave Bush dominated at the Phillies' home.

Bush held Philadelphia hitless for 7 1-3 innings before pinch-hitter Matt Stairs homered off the foul pole, and the Milwaukee Brewers cruised to a 6-1 win Thursday.

One batter after third baseman Bill Hall made a tremendous play to preserve Bush's try, Stairs batted for reliever Chad Durbin and launched a high fly that hit the pole in right field.

"I figured it was going to be way fair at first, then I saw the ball bending a little bit," Bush said.

The big story on the mound early in the game was Cole Hamels. The World Series MVP was forced to leave after getting hit in the left shoulder by Prince Fielder's line drive. The team said Hamels had a bruise.

"I have a temporary tattoo of a baseball that will be going away," Hamels said. "I'll be fine. I've been hit in much worse spots, spots where you really don't come back as fast. I'll be able to go out there and pitch in five days."

Long after he was gone, Bush (1-0) drew all the attention. He graduated from high school in Conestoga, Pa., and spent the first few days of the Brewers' visit with his folks in nearby Devon.

Bush's parents, wife, sister and several friends were in attendance.

"It was fun," he said. "I always like coming back here and pitching in my hometown. It was fun to have them all here, and good to get a win."

Bush became the sixth pitcher to lose a no-hit bid in the late innings this season. Bush and Boston's Tim Wakefield each had no-bids this year that went 7 1-3 innings. Randy Johnson, Ted Lilly, A.J. Burnett and Trevor Cahill had their tries broken up in the seventh.

This was the third time Bush took a no-hitter into the eighth inning. He did it in 2004 for Toronto in his third major league start, going 7 1-3 innings against Oakland, and lost another bid last June 19 when Toronto's Lyle Overbay hit a leadoff triple in the eighth.

Bush gave up two hits in 7 2-3 innings and drew a standing ovation when he left after Shane Victorino's single. The right-hander walked three, struck out four and hit two batters, including Jimmy Rollins leading off the first.

Bush left after 113 pitches, a high amount for this early in the season.

"You're trying to watch guys' pitch counts and the guy is pitching a no-hitter," Brewers manager Ken Macha said. "He had good command of his offspeed stuff and was able to throw his fastball by them at times. He did a great job of pitching."

Would Macha have left him in with a no-hitter?

"Yeah," Macha said. "He would have sprinted out there for the ninth. As the day went on, he just kept making his pitches."

The Phillies kept missing them. After scoring 11 runs in the first game of the series on Tuesday, Philadelphia was held to a run in each of the next two games, giving the Brewers their first two-game winning streak of the season.

Ryan Braun and Hall homered for Milwaukee and Fielder contributed a three-run double. The Brewers won a series for the first time this year, beating the team that eliminated them in the playoffs last season.

Hamels (0-2), also the MVP of the 2008 NLCS, struck out six in the first three innings. One pitch after giving up Braun's two-run homer in the fourth, he was struck on the back of his left shoulder by Fielder's liner that went for an infield single.

Trainers immediately tended to the ace lefty. Hamels is off to rough start this year with a 9.69 ERA through three outings.

Bush became the first Brewers pitcher to go seven innings this season. Hall made the play of the game leading off the Phillies eighth, backhanding a slicing grounder by pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs, taking a few quick steps into foul territory and slinging a throw that Fielder neatly picked at first base.

At the time, Hall, Bush and the Brewers felt it was going to be a special day.

"I thought it was going to happen," Hall said. "but Matt Stairs hit a ball that we all thought was going foul. But it stayed on the line. Bush pitched a great game. Obviously, we look to take more chances on defense to keep the no-hitter intact."