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Fielder hit two home runs, Corey Hart and Bill Hall also went deep and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-3 on Sunday for their sixth win in seven games.
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Milwaukee Brewers’ Prince Fielder (28) hits a two-run home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles Sunday, June 22, 2008, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash) |
``They all feel good to me,'' Fielder said of his homers.
The big first baseman, who led the NL with 50 homers last year, has 16 this year after connecting in the sixth and seventh innings. He also doubled and scored on Hart's 12th homer in the second.
Fielder is batting .341 (47-for-138) with 11 homers in his last 36 games, raising his average from .241 on May 12 to .292. After his latest big game, he said he is feeling better at the plate than he has at any time this season.
``Hopefully, I can keep it up,'' he said. ``When you feel comfortable, good things happen.''
Manny Parra (7-2) struggled through five innings but won his fifth consecutive start. He helped himself get out of trouble by inducing three double plays.
``Good thing for the double plays because I was struggling with the strike zone,'' Parra said. ``It was just a bad ol' day, one of those days where I was struggling to find my command.''
Parra issued a career-high six of the Orioles' 10 walks, but only one scored. Baltimore went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, and left nine runners on base despite hitting into five double plays.
``It's a crazy game,'' Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. ``Things happen and there really isn't any rhyme or reason to it as how it works out. It don't figure.''
Salomon Torres, the fifth Milwaukee pitcher, got Melvin Mora to ground into a game-ending double play for his 12th save in 14 chances.
Garrett Olson (5-3) gave up four runs and four hits in five innings for the Orioles.
``I felt overall I pitched pretty well, I just had a couple of pitches I wish I had back,'' said Olson, who is 2-3 with a 6.39 ERA on the road and 3-0 with a 3.49 ERA at Camden Yards.
The Brewers have hit 45 home runs in their last 22 games, going 15-7 in that span.
``They got their runs with one swing of the bat, multiple times,'' Trembley said. ``That was the difference in the game.''
Baltimore took a 3-2 lead on Kevin Millar's RBI double in the fifth.
Hall led off the bottom half with his 10th homer and first since May 13. Gabe Kapler then walked, advanced to second on Rickie Weeks' two-out walk and scored on J.J. Hardy's single to left.
Ryan Bukvich, promoted from Triple-A Norfolk before the game, replaced Olson to open the sixth, and Fielder greeted him with a 435-foot home run just inside the right-field foul pole.
Hardy doubled off Chad Bradford to open the seventh, and Fielder connected against left-hander Jamie Walker to make it 7-3.
Parra allowed three runs and five hits.
``We had a chance early in the game to get Parra out of the game, and we didn't do it,'' Trembley said. ``We had his pitch count way up and had a chance to put a lot more runs on. It didn't happen.''
Notes: Weeks was activated from the DL before the game and went 0-for-3. ... The Orioles designated INF Freddie Bynum for assignment to make room for Bukvich. ... Baltimore has lost 11 consecutive Sunday games. ... The Orioles bullpen gave up three earned runs, snapping a string of 16 1-3 innings without giving up an earned run. ... Baltimore 2B Brian Roberts doubled in the first to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. ... It was the first time in nine games that the Orioles did not hit a home run.
