It was more of the same last night for the Milwaukee Brewers. Home runs and solid pitching continued to fuel the Brewers solid 2011 campaign. Last night’s victory and a little help from the Cubs gave Milwaukee their first NL Central title in nearly two decades.
Prince Fielder got Milwaukee on the board early with his 35th home run of the year, a solo shot in the second.
Brewers starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo was able to maintain the lead for another few frames, but the Marlins broke through in the 4th. Gallardo had surrendered doubles in each of the first three innings, but was able to escape each frame without surrendering a run.
The right-hander luck ran out in the 4th. After Gabby Sanchez recorded the Marlins fourth two-bagger of the night, Gallardo was able to strike out John Buck for the second out of the inning. Bryan Peterson was then finally able to cash in on Florida’s extra base outburst, singling home Sanchez to knot things up at one.
This is where things remained until Ryan Braun did what Ryan Braun does best. With two on and one out in the bottom of the 8th, Braun took reliever Clay Hensley deep to center. His 32nd round-tripper of the year put the Brewers up for good. John Axford closed things out for his 44th save of the year.
After claiming their 92nd victory of the year, all the Brewers had to do was wait for the Cubs to wrap up their win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Once they did the celebration began, as the Brewers had officially claimed their first NL Central crown since 1982.
For more on the Brewers, be sure to check out Reviewing the Brew.