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Homers fuel Brewers’ rally

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Photo by AP Photo/Morry Gash

Milwaukee Brewers' Prince Fielder hits a two-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Florida Marlins on Tuesday in Milwaukee.

MILWAUKEE — Prince Fielder said it feels like there are 35 guys on the right side of the field when he comes to bat. That matters little when the left-handed slugger shows his pop.

Fielder hit a pair of two-run homers over the shift and Rickie Weeks and Mike Cameron hit solo shots to rally the Milwaukee Brewers to a 6-3 victory over the Florida Marlins on Tuesday night.

“Pretty much the night belonged to Prince—three hits, two homers, four RBIs,” Brewers manager Ken Macha said. “That’s pretty much the offense.”

It was the first time this season the Brewers hit four homers in a game. Milwaukee has won seven of its last nine and is 15-5 since since a 4-9 start.

Fielder, who had been hitless in his previous 10 at-bats, singled the opposite way in the second and hit his first homer down the right-field line in the fourth inning off starter John Koronka to cut Florida’s lead to 3-2.

Weeks tied it with his homer in the fifth and, after Corey Hart singled, Fielder hit a towering shot over the Marlins’ bullpen off Koronka (0-1) for his seventh this season to give Milwaukee a 5-3 lead.

Marlins pitching coach Mark Wiley made a visit to the mound just before Fielder hit his second homer.

“He just said, ‘Make pitches and be careful here’ and obviously I didn’t do that,” Koronka said. “Two swings of the bat by him cost us the game.”

It was Fielder’s 14th career multihomer game and the first time he has hit two off a left-handed pitcher since doing it against Phillies starter Cole Hamels on April 23, 2008.

“I feel more comfortable (against left-handers), because I see them more,” Fielder said. “It’s not getting easier, but because I’m seeing them a lot more it’s not such a shock when I do see them.”

That was all Brewers starter Manny Parra (2-4) and the bullpen needed although Cameron homered in the eighth.

Parra allowed three runs and six hits in six innings and relievers Carlos Villanueva, Mark DiFelice and Trevor Hoffman didn’t allow a baserunner the rest of the way. Hoffman picked up his sixth save.

“Manny deserves to have a game go his way,” DiFelice said. “He wasn’t getting as much run support, but he was still pitching good games. He got four quick losses. Now he’s won two in a row and I think he needed that.”

Florida’s young starting rotation was thought to be a strength, but injuries have hurt the Marlins, who have lost eight of their last 11.

Koronka, starting in place of Anibal Sanchez (shoulder), was making his first start since May 30, 2007. The 28-year-old left-hander hasn’t pitched regularly in the majors since 2006 when he made 23 starts for Texas.

He got a 3-0 lead early when Dan Uggla, hitting .189, had an RBI single in the first and Emilio Bonifacio and Jeremy Hermida added RBI singles in the second.

But Parra, who struck out eight, settled down after three consecutive hits in the second, and the Brewers allowed just two baserunners from the third inning on.

“It’s great when you know that they’re going to score the runs, you’ve just got to keep them in the game,” Parra said. “It’s a team that you just can’t keep down too long.”

Notes

-- Brewers LF Ryan Braun won the NL Player of the Week award on Monday.

-- Brewers C Mike Rivera (ankle) is expected to be activated from the DL on Thursday.

-- Milwaukee signed utilityman Frank Catalanotto to a minor league contract. Catalanotto will report to the Brewers’ spring training facility in Arizona today.

on Wednesday. and spend about a week there before being assigned to a minor league team.