Kendall doubles, scores in Brewers' wild win

[June 25, 2009]  MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Jason Kendall's two-out double in the eighth inning tied the game, and the Milwaukee catcher came around to score after two errors on the play to give the Brewers an unlikely 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night.

Twins starter Nick Blackburn (6-3) scattered nine hits through 7 2-3 innings and had a 3-2 lead when he allowed a soft single to J.J. Hardy. Kendall hit a ball off the wall in left-center and Brendan Harris' relay throw to the plate skipped past catcher Joe Mauer.

Blackburn, backing up the play, threw to third trying to get Kendall, but the ball sailed away from Joe Crede, allowing Kendall to score easily for Milwaukee's first lead.

The Brewers, who had lost 10 of 14, snapped a season-high four-game losing streak and beat the Twins for the first time this year in this border rivalry.

Reliever Todd Coffey (3-1) pitched the eighth and Trevor Hoffman, who had been warming up when Kendall's big hit deflected just off the wall in front of the Brewers bullpen, converted his 17th save in 18 chances. He walked Mauer with two outs but got Justin Morneau to ground out to end it.

Minnesota took a 3-1 lead in the sixth on Jason Kubel's home run and an RBI double by Crede off Brewers starter Braden Looper. Kendall drove in a run in the bottom of the inning with a single to cut Minnesota's lead to 3-2.

That looked like it would be all Milwaukee would get off Blackburn, who had won his previous four decisions and hadn't taken a loss since May 5 before he ran into trouble in the wild eighth.

Looper, who had an RBI single in the second, looked to be the painful loser after he was hit by a line drive in the fifth that deflected and was caught in a diving effort by first baseman Prince Fielder. Looper stayed in the game, but struggled to get out of the sixth.

Mauer, on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week, singled in the seventh after going hitless in his previous 12 at-bats. He finished 1 for 3 with two walks on Wednesday night, dropping his average to .394.

Both teams continued to deal with damage to the lowest areas of the stadium after storms flooded Miller Park over the weekend while the Brewers were in Detroit. The batting cages have been completely removed with only a soggy mess left behind, and both clubhouses have had food catered instead of the typical on-site service.

NOTES: Twins INF Nick Punto (ribs) will have an MRI in Minneapolis on Thursday. His ribs have been bothering him since he left Saturday's 6-5 loss to Houston. ... Brewers RHP Seth McClung will come out of the bullpen to start Saturday against San Francisco. Milwaukee has been without a fifth starter since LHP Manny Parra was demoted to Triple-A Nashville on June 14. ... Twins RF Denard Span (ear infection) returned after two rehab appearances at Triple-A Rochester, where he was hit by a pitch that caused his left thumb to swell. Span can come off the DL on Thursday.

[Associated Press; By COLIN FLY]

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