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Hart's go-ahead triple helps Brewers snap four-game skid

Aug 11, 2007 - 4:55 AM HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Corey Hart hit a go-ahead triple in the 11th inning as the Milwaukee Brewers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-4 victory over the Houston Astros on Friday.

Rickie Weeks, who was called up from Class AAA Nashville earlier in the day, drew a two-out walk and scored the go-ahead run when Hart hit an opposite-field triple to right off Brian Moehler (1-4).

"I was really just trying to put the ball in play," Hart said. "(Moehler) tried to go outside and I reached out and kept it fair, and Rickie did the rest."

Hart's hit came on an 0-2 pitch, after he disagreed with home plate umpire Bill Welke on strike two.

"Sometimes you can get frustrated with the umpire," Hart said. "You just try to stay focused and not lose the rest of the at-bat."

Moehler was more upset with the walk to Weeks than he was with the pitch to Hart.

"It was the right pitch, even (catcher Brad Ausmus) said so," Moehler said. "But the walk beat us, plain and simple."

Luke Scott hit a three-run homer off Milwaukee starter Dave Bush in the fifth to give Houston a 4-2 lead, but Bill Hall laced a two-run double in the sixth that tied the game.

The bullpens exchanged scoreless frames until Moehler got ahead of Weeks 1-2 before walking him.

Weeks drew a career-high four walks, helping Milwaukee snap its overall skid and win on the road for the first time in seven tries.

"(Weeks) is going to help us down the stretch," Hall said. "He's got speed and hitting. He's definitely going to be a big threat for us, that's my prediction. He brings a lot of tools."

Chris Spurling (2-1) pitched a scoreless 10th and Francisco Cordero worked a perfect 11th to record his major league-leading 35th save in 42 chances.

The win kept Milwaukee (61-55) in first place in the National League Central Division, one-half game ahead of Chicago (60-55). It also came on the heels of a three-game sweep in Colorado in which the Brewers were outscored, 36-10.

"This is huge, especially after getting whooped by Colorado and them having swept the Cubs," Hart said. "This was a big step for us. We're trying to figure out how to win games on the road."

"When you're struggling like we have been, sometimes you have to scratch and claw to get yourself out of it," Brewers manager Ned Yost added.

Yost's team nearly tasted defeat an inning earlier, when pinch hitter Mike Lamb hit a two-out double off Spurling. After an intentional walk to Scott, Jason Lane ripped a 400-foot shot to left-center, but Hall made the catch at the wall.

"I was playing more shallow than usual. With a guy on second and two outs, you want to have a shot to throw him out at home on a hit," Hall said. "I was probably two steps shallow. He hit one in the gap and it just died a bit for me to get it."

Houston took an early 1-0 lead in the first as Craig Biggio led off with a single and later scored on a two-out base hit by Carlos Lee. The Astros loaded the bases with none out in the second inning but could not push across a run.

J.J. Hardy hit his 18th home run of the season in the third to tie the game.

Prince Fielder snapped the deadlock in the second by depositing a 2-2 offering from Jason Jennings into the upper deck in right field for his National League-leading 35th of the season.

It was the fourth homer in the last nine games for Fielder, who had just one in the first 19 contests after the All-Star break. Friday's shot traveled an estimated 446 feet - the 10th-longest blast in Minute Maid Park history.

Bush, who allowed four runs and 11 hits in six innings, is winless in his last three starts. Jennings fared no better, yielding four runs and three hits in 5 1/3 frames.

With the loss, the Astros (51-64) fell 9 1/2 games behind the Brewers.

"It would have been nice to win this first one," Jennings said. "We thought it was our shot to make a run. And if we were going to make a run, especially after sweeping the Cubs, we needed to win this one."