Prince Fielder shines as Milwaukee Brewers defeat Houston Astros 5-4 – MLB Update
Prince Fielder put in a tremendous performance as he drove in a run in the eighth inning to help the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Houston Astros 5-4 on Sunday, July 31 at Miller Park.
The win also enabled the Brewers to sweep the three-game series against the dejected Astros.
Milwaukee owed a great deal to the hit of Prince Fielder in the eighth to clear the path for victory.
Astros’ starter Brett Myers tossed a scoreless first following Chris Narveson who pitched a shut-out second. However, Myers was unable to contain the otherwise resurgent and in-form Brewers’ hitters in the second inning.
Yuniesky Betancourt was the first to score against the struggling Myers, giving the team a 1-0 advantage. The lead was doubled simultaneously as Jonathan Lucroy sacrificed to the pitcher, allowing Betancourt to score the second for the Brewers.
Narveson was able to pitch another scoreless inning in the third but Jason Bourgeois hit one brilliant hit of the day. Bourgeois’ hit brought a three-run homer to the Astros, as the lead was now 3-2.
Once the lead was reversed by Bourgeois, the Astros had hoped to take it all the way. However, that did not materialise, thanks to a forward-looking Brewers’ offence that kicked into action once again in the fourth.
Jonathan Lucroy drove in a single to level the score for the Brewers. Yuniesky Betancourt drove in another RBI single in the sixth to take the Brewers lead to 4-3, gradually paving way for the series sweep.
However, the game saw another turn in the eighth with Bourgeois’ RBI single levelled the score, leaving the game open for any team willing to grab the opportunity. But before anything would go against the Brewers, Prince Fielder resurfaced.
"At home, we're always on a good roll, it seems like," Fielder said before knocking on wood. "So, just keep playing the way we've been playing. No matter what happens, we can be happy with that. I think we're playing good baseball overall."
Fielder scored the tie-breaking run in the eighth to revive the Brewers’ hope to win the series. "I was really trying to make sure I at the least I got Braunie over," Fielder said. "I didn't think they were going to set it up on a tee, but I was obviously
ready to hit something."
That hit proved decisive as John Axford tossed unplayable pitches in the ninth as a closer to incapacitate Houston’s hitters, turning the 5-4 lead into an absolute victory for the Brewers to also sweep the series.
The Brewers put in a good performance as they managed to restrict the Astros’ offence and take a much needed win.
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