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Ryan Braun and the Milwaukee Brewers insist
it's way too early to start watching the scoreboard. That said,
they're enjoying their three-game lead in the NL Central.


      Braun extended his hitting streak to 17 games with a tiebreaking
home run and the Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins 6-2 Sunday.


      "It means we're in a position we wanted to be in," Braun said
of the lead over the St. Louis Cardinals. "But ultimately it
matters where we're at on Sept. 26, not June 26."


      The Brewers have not won a division title since taking the AL
East in 1982. They moved to the National League in 1998 and won the
wild card in 2008. With St. Louis star Albert Pujols expected to be
on the disabled list with a broken left wrist for at least six
weeks, the Brewers hope to widen their lead.


      The Brewers were the only team in the division to win on Sunday.


      "It's definitely better than a no-game lead," slugger Prince
Fielder said with a big smile.


      The Brewers had dropped seven of 10 before trouncing the Twins
in the three-game interleague series.


      "I don't think we ever lost confidence in any way," Braun
said. "You just continue to go out there and continue to compete.
Sometime you play against good teams and they are going to beat
you, but if we continue to go out there and play the same way we're
going to win a lot of games."


      Braun connected for a two-run shot in the fifth inning. Chris
Narveson (5-5) helped himself with an RBI double.


      The punchless Twins, using a watered-down lineup decimated by
injuries, have scored only eight runs in losing five consecutive
games.


      "I don't really care," Fielder said. "That's the team that's
out there, so we have to try and beat them. Fortunately, we had a
good series."


      Jonathan Lucroy had a triple, a double, a walk, scored two runs
and had an RBI for Milwaukee, which swept the three-game series and
has won four of five.


      "It's so far to go," Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said.
"Maybe with a month left or something I'll start.


      "I know how fast things can change in one month," he said.


      Carl Pavano (5-6) blanked the Brewers the first four innings,
but allowed five runs with two outs over the next two innings to
lose for the first time in five June starts.


      "I gave up those runs with two outs," he said. "That's tough
to swallow."


      Narveson allowed two runs in 6 2-3 innings against a Twins
starting lineup that had combined for only 22 homers this season,
one more than Fielder.


      Narveson scattered five hits and two walks while striking out
seven to win for the third time in four starts.
      The Twins took a 1-0 lead in the second when Danny Valencia
singled and scored on Jason Repko's single.


      The Brewers loaded the bases with two outs against Pavano in the
third, but Braun flied out to end the inning.


      Lucroy opened the inning with a triple down the left-field line.
Two outs later, Nyjer Morgan singled to tie it at 1. Pavano threw
to first in an effort to keep Morgan close to the bag, but the ball
went off Luke Hughes' glove for an error, allowing Morgan to
advance to second. Braun hit the next pitch over the center-field
wall for his 16th homer.


      In the sixth, Milwaukee scored twice more off Pavano with two
outs. Yuniesky Betancourt singled and scored on Lucroy's double.
Narveson doubled down the left-field line for his second extra-base
hit in 105 major-league plate appearances, scoring Lucroy for a 5-1
lead.


      "Ugly ball game for us," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire
said. "Make mistakes and they end up killing you all the time. We
made too many of them today."


      Minnesota scored its second run off Narveson in the seventh.
Hughes walked and scored on pinch-hitter Jim Thome's RBI single,
moving the 40-year-old past Ernie Banks into 28th on the all-time
RBI list with 1,637.


      Twins reliever Jose Mijares allowed another hit to Fielder in
the seventh that gave the Brewers a 6-2 lead, two nights after
getting into a dispute with catcher Joe Mauer over pitch selection.
Mijares complained after Friday night's game that he wanted to
throw a slider to Fielder, but Mauer called several fastballs and
the big first baseman hit one for a game-winning double.


      With Braun on second Sunday, Fielder came to the plate and Mauer
called for the slider. Fielder promptly sent it into center field
for an RBI single to make it 6-2.


      NOTES: Gardenhire said Mauer would begin taking grounders at
first base when the team returns to Minnesota this week so the team
could have more options to get him in the lineup. Mauer did not
start Sunday, but pinch-hit in the seventh and stayed in the game.
... Twins OF Jason Kubel, out since May 31 with a sprained left
foot, is expected to undergo a workout Monday, and then likely will
be sent on a rehab assignment to Triple-A Rochester. Gardenhire
said Kubel likely will play seven games at Rochester before
returning to the Twins. ... Pavano's strikeout of Fielder in the
fifth was the 1,000 of the right-hander's career. ... After Thome
collected the RBI hit, LHP Brian Duensing pinch-ran for him. ... It
was the seventh time the Twins have been swept this year after
being swept only four times all of last season. ... The Brewers
optioned RHP Mark DiFelice to Triple-A Nashville after the game.
      

Gallery

Sports

Ryan Braun extended his hitting streak to 17 games with a tiebreaking
home run and the Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins 6-2 Sunday.

Braun homers in Brewers' 6-2 win over Twins

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