CLEVELAND (AP) -The Milwaukee Brewers rebounded from a miserable homestand to outslug the Cleveland Indians in the opener of their interleague series.
Prince Fielder’s first career grand slam sparked a six-run eighth inning and the Brewers rallied to beat the Indians 14-12 on Monday night. Ryan Braun also homered and drove in five runs for the NL Central-leading Brewers.
Milwaukee bounced back from a 1-5 homestand during which it scored two runs or less in three of the six games.
“That’s how it is, you don’t score at home and then we get 14 tonight,” Fielder said. “That’s why this game is so fun and challenging. You never know what’s going to happen.”
Milwaukee trailed most of the night and was down 12-8 entering the eighth.
American League, when you have a DH in the lineup instead of a pitcher,” Braun said. “It’s definitely a lot of fun. Different baseball than we’re used to playing. It’s a big win for us, no question.”
Milwaukee sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning, taking advantage when Cleveland relievers Luis Vizcaino and Matt Herges walked the bases loaded for Braun and Fielder.
Cleveland pitchers issued seven walks, giving them a major league-high 261 this season. Greg Aquino, Vizcaino, Herges and Perez combined to allow eight runs, six hits and six walks in 2 1-3 innings.
“The walks have hurt us and they hurt us again,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said. “We had a really bad night on the mound. It was multiple people and when you do that, it’s tough to win ballgames.”
Rafael Perez (1-2) replaced Herges after Braun’s infield single cut Cleveland’s lead to 12-9.
Fielder hit Perez’s first pitch into the seats in right-center field for his 16th homer and the 130th of his career – but it was his first slam.
“It was cool, a good feeling. I’m happy we came out on top,” Fielder said. “I was just trying to get a pitch I could drive up the middle.”
Craig Counsell, Casey McGehee and Braun, the first three batters in Milwaukee’s order, went a combined 7 for 13 and scored 10 times.
1-3 scoreless innings to pick up the win and Trevor Hoffman got three outs for his 16th save. Milwaukee has won five straight over the Indians in interleague play on a night both teams recorded season-highs for runs allowed.
“We were pretty much out of it a couple of times, but the guys didn’t quit,” Brewers manager Ken Macha said. “We still had a lot of fight left in the dog.”
Victor Martinez, Shin-Soo Choo, Mark DeRosa and Travis Hafner homered for Cleveland.
Milwaukee’s comeback overshadowed another difficult outing for Dave Bush, who was charged with eight runs in 3 1-3 innings, his shortest outing of the season.
Bush allowed two of Cleveland’s four homers, giving him 17 for the season and tying him with Philadelphia’s Brett Myers for the most allowed in the majors.
Bush, who hasn’t won since May 19, is 0-4 with an 8.64 ERA in his last five starts.
Cleveland starter Carl Pavano struggled again, allowing six runs in five innings. In two starts since his shutout against the Chicago White Sox on June 5, he has allowed 15 runs and 20 hits in 9 2-3 innings.
Angels 9, Giants 7
At San Francisco, Erick Aybar and Bobby Abreu hit back-to-back homers, John Lackey ended a four-start winless stretch and the Angels earned their fourth straight victory.
ected in the Angels’ seven-run fourth. Robb Quinlan singled in two runs, Mike Napoli added an RBI double and Lackey even singled in a run for his first major league hit and RBI.
Juan Rivera and Sean Rodriguez also went deep for Los Angeles.
Pablo Sandoval hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth to go with an earlier solo shot, his first career multihomer game. Brian Fuentes entered and got pinch-hitter Rich Aurilia on a flyout for his 17th save in 20 chances.
Lackey (2-2) struck out a season-high 10 and won for the first time since May 18 against Seattle.
Giants left-hander Barry Zito (3-7) was done after 3 2-3 innings in his shortest outing of the season. He gave up seven runs and 10 hits.
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