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Hall leads Brewers to comeback win

May 28, 2008 - 4:12 AM By Nick Berenz PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- Bill Hall's smart baserunning and Mike Cameron's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the Milwaukee Brewers to a 3-2 comeback victory over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series.

J.J. Hardy had three hits and drove in two runs and Ryan Braun also added three hits for the Brewers, who have won three of their last four contests.

Kelly Johnson and Gregor Blanco each hit a solo home run for the Braves, who are a league-worst 6-17 on the road this season.

Hall led off the ninth with a pinch-hit single to right and was sacrificed to second on Rickie Weeks' bunt. Hall then caught Atlanta reliever Jeff Bennett (0-3) not paying attention to him and stole third easily, allowing Cameron to drive him in for the game-winning run with a fly ball to left field.

"He was giving me the same look out there," Hall said of Bennett's looks at second. "I was ready for a running opportunity and 3-0, I was able to take the base."

Braves starter Tim Hudson had dominated Milwaukee for most of the night but that all changed with two outs in the eighth. After a Prince Fielder single and a Corey Hart double, Russell Branyan was intentionally walked to load the bases.

Hardy drove in the game-tying run with an infield single that ricocheted off Hudson's foot.

"It was just a ground ball, one I thought Kelly (Johnson) probably would've gotten," Braves manager Bobby Cox said.

Hudson tossed eight innings, giving up two runs with six strikeouts while throwing a season-high 121 pitches.

"I felt all right, I just managed to let them get one across to tie it up. I just let it slip away," Hudson said. "This was probably a game we all feel like we should've won, a tough one to swallow."

Johnson connected on his sixth homer of the season in the first inning, extending his hitting streak to 13 games, and Blanco belted his first career blast in the second to provide the Braves with a 2-0 edge.

"They say solo home runs won't kill you," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "He (starter Dave Bush) battled tonight, that's what he does."

Bush had his best outing of the season, lasting seven frames and giving up a pair of runs with three strikeouts. In his previous five starts, Bush had allowed 17 runs over 23 innings.

"I'm just working to get myself right and tonight was obviously a step in the right direction," Bush said. "I'm trying to get the feel back and I'm feeling more comfortable in what I'm doing."

Salomon Torres (4-1), who replaced the injured Eric Gagne as the team's closer, pitched the ninth inning to record the win for the Brewers.