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Fielder's blast in eighth sinks Phillies

Aug 5, 2007 - 5:02 AM MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- Prince Fielder and the Milwaukee Brewers refused to stand by and let the Chicago Cubs take over the lead in the National League Central Division.

Fielder's two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning off Tom Gordon led the Brewers to a 6-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday at Miller Park.

Rookie Ryan Braun also homered for the Brewers, who beat the Phillies for the second straight night.

"Earlier in the year, that's how we were playing," Fielder said. "We stayed with it no matter who was out there. Lately, if a good pitcher is out there, we'd get down. Today, and even yesterday, we stayed in there and stayed positive."

In the eighth, Gordon (1-2) allowed a one-out infield single by J.J. Hardy down the third base line. Braun then popped out, but Fielder delivered a blast to right field for his NL-leading 32nd blast of the season, erasing a 5-4 deficit.

"I knew he was going to be aggressive, so I was just trying to stay aggressive also and try to hit the ball hard," Fielder said. "With two strikes, you really focus on the ball and put it in play, and good things happen."

The homer made a winner of Derrick Turnbow (3-4), who tossed a scoreless top of the eighth. With the help of right fielder Corey Hart, who made a brilliant catch in the ninth, Francisco Cordero retired the side in order for his NL-best 34th save.

With one out in the ninth, Cordero surrendered a deep drive to right by Tadahito Iguchi. The 6-6 Hart needed all of his height and more, timing his jump perfectly and robbing Iguchi of a game-tying home run.

"If I'm 5-8, I don't get that ball. I'm good for something," said Hart, who went 0-for-4 at the plate with three strikeouts. "I was just trying to get back and get a good jump. You try to get back to the wall as soon as you can. It kept carrying pretty good."

Hart's catch helped extend Philadelphia's losing streak at Miller Park to seven straight games.

"Every game is a must-win for this team," Iguchi said. "We really felt we could have taken this game. My last at-bat, we thought we could have tied the game. I was praying on my way to first base."

With the triumph, the Brewers (60-51) maintained their one-game lead over the Cubs (58-51) in the Central.

"I'd have a hard time thinking back this year and finding a more exciting win," Milwaukee manager Ned Yost said. "The fans were into it, and our guys, you could see they were staying after it."

Philadelphia got to Milwaukee starter Dave Bush early, opening a 3-1 lead in the second inning. After Braun belted his 19th homer in the first, reigning NL MVP Ryan Howard hit his 30th of the season to lead off the second inning.

Bush then walked Aaron Rowand before Pat Burrell connected for his fourth blast in five games, giving the Phillies the advantage.

The home run extended Burrell's hitting streak to 13 games. During the Phillies' current road trip, Burrell is hitting .450 (9-for-20) with four home runs, five RBI and six runs scored in six contests.

Greg Dobbs homered off Bush in the fourth inning and Carlos Ruiz added an RBI double in the sixth to give Philadelphia a 5-1 lead.

Starter Cole Hamels cruised through the first five innings, allowing two hits - both by Braun. But in the sixth, the All-Star lefthander ran into trouble.

Tony Graffanino and pinch hitter Joe Dillon reached on consecutive infield singles and, after Hart struck out, J.J. Hardy delivered a two-run double to center field. Two batters later, Hardy scored on Prince Fielder's single, drawing Milwaukee within 5-4.

"He's tough," Fielder said of Hamels. "His changeup is one of the best pitches in the game."

The Brewers tried to keep the rally going as Bill Hall followed with a single, but right fielder Chris Roberson made a diving catch on Kevin Mench's sinking line drive to end the threat.

Hamels returned to pitch a perfect seventh before giving way to Gordon. He yielded four runs and seven hits, striking out five without a walk.

Bush allowed back-to-back doubles by Dobbs and Ruiz to start the top of the sixth before being lifted. The righthander surrendered five runs and eight hits - including six for extra bases - with three walks and four strikeouts in five-plus frames.

With the loss, Philadelphia (57-53) remained five games behind the first-place New York Mets (62-48) in the NL East.

The Phillies took the setback hard. Manager Charlie Manuel closed the door to his office and did not speak to the media, and Hamels also refused to comment.

"All (losses) are tough this late in the season," Gordon said. "Every game counts. I let a good game get away."