McCann slams Braves past Brewers
Jul 19, 2010 | 821 views | 0 0 comments | 6 6 recommendations | email to a friend | print
(The Associated Press)
(The Associated Press)
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ATLANTA (AP) — Brian McCann hit a grand slam and matched his career high with five RBIs, helping the Atlanta Braves end a rare two-game home losing streak by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 11-6 on Sunday.

The Braves, who won the series opener before losing two straight to Milwaukee, improved baseball's best home record to 32-12.

Matt Diaz drove in three runs with three hits, including a homer, as the Braves took a split in the four-game series. Omar Infante drove in two runs with four hits.

Two Atlanta batters were hit by pitches but both teams remained calm one day after Milwaukee's Prince Fielder was hit by a pitch, causing unrest in the Brewers' clubhouse.

Rickie Weeks had two homers and Fielder hit his second homer in as many days for Milwaukee.

By splitting the four games with Milwaukee, the Braves have lost only one of their last 20 series (15-1-4) since May 10. They are 41-20 in that span.

Home-plate umpire Scott Barry issued warnings to both benches when Milwaukee's Manny Parra hit Jason Heyward with a pitch in the sixth. The pitch hit Heyward's leg, and he calmly walked to first base.

Parra was replaced by David Riske, who gave up a single to Omar Infante and then hit Troy Glaus with a pitch. Braves manager Bobby Cox came out, apparently to ask Barry why Riske was not ejected.

It was the second straight game in which a warning had been given to both teams. On Saturday night, Milwaukee manager Ken Macha was upset after Braves pitcher Jonny Venters threw a pitch over Fielder's head and hit Fielder on his back with the next pitch. Venters and Cox were ejected.

Macha said he spoke with Bruce Froemming, a former umpire and current special assistant for Major League Baseball's umpiring department, about Saturday's incident and the high number of times his players have been hit by pitches.

Weeks' first homer was a blast over the center-field wall to lead off the game. Weeks set a career high and franchise record for a second baseman with 17 homers.

After Weeks' second homer in the sixth, Derek Lowe gave up three more hits, including Fielder's run-scoring single to cut Atlanta's lead to 8-3. Left-hander Mike Dunn ended the threat when Carlos Gomez hit into a double play with the bases loaded.

Lowe (10-8) became the first Braves pitcher with 10 wins. He gave up three runs on eight hits and a walk in 5 1-3 innings.

Diaz drove in Glaus with a double in the second. Atlanta's first five batters reached base in the third. Omar Infante, who had four hits, had a run-scoring single before McCann's fifth career grand slam.

Diaz hit a homer in the fifth and a run-scoring single in the sixth, when the Braves finally knocked Parra out of the game with three runs.

Parra (3-7) gave up 10 hits and 10 runs, matching his career high, in 5 1-3 innings.

The start of the game was delayed by rain for 35 minutes.

NOTES: Brewers rookie OF Lorenzo Cain had a pinch-hit single in the seventh for his first career hit and added a double in the ninth. ... Weeks previously shared the franchise mark for most homers by a Brewers' second baseman with Don Money, who hit 16 in 1977. Weeks hit 16 homers in 2007. ... Weeks' sixth leadoff homer tied a franchise record. ... Chipper Jones (hamstring) was in the original Braves lineup before he was scratched an hour before the game. ... The Braves are 13-1 in home day games. ... Diaz has three homers, all in the last 11 days. ... Parra also allowed 10 runs on June 2, 2009, at Florida.
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