Brewers comeback stifled by Astros

MILWAUKEE -- The Astros blooped, bunted and blasted their way past the Brewers on Saturday, burying the home team's bid for a return visit to .500.
Nine of the Astros' 12 hits were singles, but they also got a key two-run insurance homer by Lance Berkman and staved off the pesky Brewers for a 7-5 win in front of 24,437 at Miller Park.
Right when the Brewers worked back to the cusp of evening their record, they faltered. Second baseman Rickie Weeks committed an error that led to two unearned runs in the second inning, starter Tomo Ohka walked two batters in the third that came around to score and reliever Kane Davis surrendered Berkman's two-run home run in the eighth that gave the Astros a crucial four-run cushion.
"It's been so long since we've had that .500 season, and we just have to find a way to get over the hump," said third baseman Bill Hall, whose double sparked a ninth-inning rally that fell short.
"Of course, it's not going to be easy," Hall said. "Once we get there, everybody knows we're close to it and we seem to lose the game. Hopefully we can run off some wins in a row and then we can forget about it."
Four of the Brewers' five runs scored courtesy of pinch-hits. Corey Hart belted a two-run home run off Andy Pettitte (15-9) in the third inning as the Brewers tried to mount a comeback from an early 5-0 deficit, and Jeff Cirillo and Prince Fielder each delivered pinch-hit RBI singles.
Cirillo's seventh-inning single chased Pettitte from the game and brought the Brewers to within two at 5-3. But after retiring the first two hitters in the eighth inning, Davis surrendered a single to Chris Burke and a 414-foot home run to Berkman.
Manager Ned Yost said Davis "overthrew" a breaking ball to Burke, who extended the inning. He then engaged Berkman in a long at-bat that included only one offspeed pitch. On Davis' seventh offering -- another fastball -- Berkman put the game away.
"He's got a good breaking ball when he stays with it," Yost said of the hard-throwing Davis. "The kid throws 95, 96 mph and he's got a decent breaking ball. It's just putting the ball in a decent spot and letting the pitch work for him."
Berkman's 19th home run of the season loomed large when the Brewers rallied in the ninth. Hall scored on Weeks' RBI double and Weeks scored on Fielder's single. But Brad Lidge retired Brady Clark and J.J. Hardy for his 36th save.
"The homer kind of killed the game," Hall said. "It put it out of reach for them, especially since we scored the runs in the ninth. But those things happen; maybe tomorrow we'll hit that big home run and put it out of reach."
Houston held onto its lead in the National League Wild Card race and Milwaukee slipped back to two games under .500 at 70-72. Rick Helling will start for the Brewers against Roy Oswalt in Sunday's series finale.
On Saturday, Ohka (10-8) surrendered five runs, three of them earned, on six hits and three costly walks, lasting just three innings.
"They weren't smashing balls all over the park," Yost said. "They were hitting balls off the end of the bat that were finding holes, and they put five runs on the board on [Ohka] quick."
The first three Astros hitters delivered soft singles off Ohka for a 1-0 lead, but Yost gambled by bringing the infield in and Ohka worked out of further damage. In the second, Ohka recorded the first two outs before Weeks misplayed Pettitte's grounder, extending the inning for Craig Biggio's two-run double. Biggio became the 13th player in Major League history to hit 600 doubles.
"We didn't make plays when we needed to," Weeks said. "That's what happens; they usually come back to get you."
In the third inning, Pettitte helped his own cause when he executed an RBI squeeze bunt with the bases loaded.
Wes Obermueller held the Astros scoreless over the next four innings while the Brewers attempted a comeback against Pettitte, who limited Milwaukee to three runs on five hits in 6 2/3 innings to win his fourth straight start.
"He just tries to keep you off-balance," Hall said. "He didn't throw the ball as hard as he did the last time we faced him, and I felt like we had some opportunities to get some runs. We didn't come up with them until late."

Source: http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/