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Parra strong as Brewers pound Pirates

May 21, 2008 - 4:16 AM By Chris Adamski PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) - The Milwaukee Brewers finally found a way to snap a couple losing streaks.

Manny Parra pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings and Mike Cameron hit his fifth home run and was on base four times as the Brewers snapped a five-game losing skid with a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.

Cameron's homer was a towering shot that just snuck inside the left-field foul pole and over the wall with one out and Rickie Weeks aboard in the seventh for Milwaukee, which had lost nine in a row on the road coming in - one loss away from tying for the second-longest streak in franchise history.

"We just needed to stop this (streak)," Cameron said. "And this was good manner with which to stop it."

Corey Hart added a solo shot, his third, and Parra (2-2) allowed only four hits and a walk while striking out five - but threw 116 pitches while only working into the sixth.

Bill Hall was on base four times, and Jason Kendall had two RBIs for Milwaukee.

"We came out today and did every aspect of the game we had to in order to win," Hall said. "We played all three phases. We played defense, pitched well and we hit."

Jason Bay saved the Pirates from getting shutout for the first time this season with his two-run homer to left with one out in the ninth, his 10th of the season. The Pirates have lost three of four and are 3-5 since having a season-high six-game winning streak snapped early last week.

"It was just one of those nights where we couldn't get anything going offensively," Pittsburgh manager John Russell said.

The Brewers scored the game's first run in the second off of Pittsburgh starter Paul Maholm when Hart came home on a force play with the bases loaded. Kendall chopped to third, and Jose Bautista's throw to second was handled by Freddy Sanchez nonchalantly, mistakenly believing that represented the third out of the inning.

"It's a mental mistake that just can't happen," Sanchez said. "It should never happen. It's inexcusable. You never know what's going to happen (the rest of the game) if we turn that double play."

Milwaukee made it 2-0 in the fifth when Ryan Braun's single to left scored Weeks. Braun had two hits but did not homer. That's significant because he had eight blasts in as many games coming in.

Parra hadn't won since his first start of the season April 5, and the Brewers had won only three of his seven starts since then. He was, however, coming off his best start of the season, having allowed only one earned run in 6 2/3 innings against the Dodgers on Wednesday.

"I think we knew what was going on (with the losing streak), and we sensed some urgency and needing to come in here and win the first game," Parra said. "The way this game was played was very positive. We kept momentum on our side the whole game.

"I think way we played today says a lot."

Maholm (2-5), who hasn't won since April 27, was adequate until Cameron hit his homer. Maholm allowed four earned runs on nine hits, two walks and two hit batsmen, striking out five.

"It kept us in the game, but it wasn't good enough," Maholm said.

The Brewers added on two more in the eighth off of reliever Sean Burnett when Hall doubled in J.J. Hardy and Kendall drove in Hall with a single.

"We needed to win," Milwaukee manager Ned Yost said. "We needed to get that five-game losing streak behind us. Now we can go home tonight on a good note knowing we can start a nice streak. It was a nice win tonight."