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Vargas, Brewers rally to win fourth straight

Jul 18, 2007 - 4:35 AM MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- When the Milwaukee Brewers see Claudio Vargas starting a home game, they know victory is at hand.

Vargas pitched five effective innings and Tony Graffanino sparked a two-run fourth with a leadoff homer as the Brewers posted a 3-2 win Tuesday over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Johnny Estrada drove in his team's first run and Cory Hart snapped a 2-2 with a sacrifice fly for Milwaukee, which won its fourth straight and improved to 9-0 in Vargas' starts at Miller Park this season. It also was the club's fourth straight one-run victory, matching a club record established on six previous occasions.

"They're fun to play," Estrada said. "They're nerve-racking for the fans and for our manager at times, but they're fun to play in, especially when you're pulling out Ws.

"Our young guys have been unbelievable this season. They don't show any signs of being tight or nervous or anything like that. There's enough veteran presence to keep things loose."

Arizona has lost three straight and dropped a season-high seven consecutive games on the road.

With the Brewers trailing, 2-1, in the fourth, Graffanino led off the frame by belting a 2-0 pitch from Arizona starter Yusmeiro Petit over the center field wall.

Brewers manager Ned Yost intimated before the game that regular second baseman Rickie Weeks, mired in a 9-for-61 slump since returning from the disabled list on May 31, likely would see his playing time reduced in favor of Graffanino and fellow veteran infielder Craig Counsell.

"The best thing, honestly, would be for Rickie to get hot," said Graffanino, adding that he wasn't certain of the new arrangement. "Hopefully, he'll work this out and start swinging."

One out later, Tony Gwynn Jr. doubled and moved to third on a single by Vargas. Hart followed with a fly ball to right field, plating Gwynn with what proved to be the winning run.

The support was enough for Vargas (7-2), who yielded two runs, five hits and three walks in improving to 5-0 at home. The righthander is now 2-1 in five career games against the Diamondbacks.

Brian Shouse pitched a hitless sixth and Carlos Villanueva went two innings, including working out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth by striking out Miguel Montero.

"A couple of heart attacks, but everything worked out good," Villanueva said. "I was talking to Yovani (Gallardo) after that inning, that we need to win a game by 10 runs so we can rest a little bit.

"But these games have a playoff-like atmosphere. It feels like it, and it's important to win these one-run games. These are the games that are going to count in late September, so we'll take them."

Closer Francisco Cordero yielded a two-out infield single by Orlando Hudson in the ninth but retired Eric Byrnes to notch his major league-leading 30th save in 33 chances.

Arizona took the lead in the first inning as RBI singles by Byrnes and Chad Tracy staked it to a 2-0 advantage.

"We had opportunities, and we've had opportunities in a lot of games," Arizona's Tony Clark said. "We're not swinging the bats when we need to. It's a shame to waste good pitching.

"Some way or another, we have to find a way to make an adjustment here, starting July 17, and move forward. I'd like to think that we're resilient enough to come in tomorrow and try to find a way to get the job done."

An inning later, the Brewers got on the board when All-Star Prince Fielder led off with a four-pitch walk and scored on a double by Estrada.

Petit (1-2) allowed three runs - two earned - and eight hits in five innings. The righthander walked three and struck out two.

Byrnes had three hits for the Diamondbacks, who have lost nine of 12 here.