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Sheets wins 10th for Brewers (with photos)
MILWAUKEE -- J.J. Hardy and Bill Hall each hit a two-run homer, Ben Sheets worked out of several jams to earn his 10th win and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-1 on Friday.
Sheets (10-2) stranded eight runners in the first five innings, allowing one run and eight hits before departing with two outs in the sixth after throwing 120 pitches. He became the sixth 10-game winner in the NL this season.
He got all the runs he needed during Milwaukee's five-run fifth inning.
Hardy, who struggled with a tight shoulder last month, had four hits for the second straight day to extend his hitting streak to 16 games, the longest active streak in the majors. His homer in the fifth set off Milwaukee's offensive outburst.
Tom Gorzelanny (6-7) walked Sheets, a career .077 hitter, and got Rickie Weeks to fly out before Hardy's drive deep to left field made it 5-1. Gorzelanny picked off Ryan Braun after a walk, but failed to get another out.
Prince Fielder snapped an 0-for-13 skid with a bloop double, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Corey Hart's single.
After Mike Cameron walked, Hall, who drove in three runs, singled in Hart and Gorzelanny's defense failed him when left fielder Jason Bay made an errant throw to third base, allowing Cameron to score on a nifty slide past Ryan Doumit's tag to make it 8-1.
Gorzelanny, who gave up 11 hits, was yanked after his fourth walk of the inning.
Pittsburgh, looking for its first three-game winning streak since May 12, left two runners on base in four innings, only scoring in the third on Xavier Nady's RBI double with two outs.
Hall, the lefty part of a third base platoon with Russell Branyan, drove the first pitch he saw into the Brewers' bullpen to give Milwaukee a 2-0 lead in the second. He also scored on Jason Kendall's two-out single in the fourth to make it 3-1.
The Pirates stranded 12 runners and one in every inning except the eighth.
Carlos Villanueva picked up his first save by pitching 3 1-3 innings.
Associated Press
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Brewers starting pitcher Ben Sheets became the sixth 10-game winner in the National League this season.
