McGehee HRs off Hunter's glove as Brewers win 12-2

[June 15, 2010]  ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Ryan Braun hit a grand slam and Casey McGehee added a solo shot off the glove of a leaping Torii Hunter, leading Randy Wolf and the Milwaukee Brewers to an 12-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.

Wolf (5-6) allowed three hits over seven innings -- all of them in the second, including a two-run double by No. 9 hitter Kevin Frandsen. The left-hander, who gave up a career-worst five home runs in his previous start against the Cubs, retired his final 13 batters after hitting Howie Kendrick on the left arm to loaded the bases with two out in the third. Wolf escaped that jam by retiring Juan Rivera on a fly ball.

Joe Saunders (5-7) gave up six runs and six hits over 5 1-3 innings against an offense that was 5 for 48 with runners in scoring position over its previous five games. The left-hander, coming off a complete-game victory last Wednesday at Oakland, is 1-6 with a 6.75 ERA in his eight home starts -- compared to 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA in his six outings on the road.

Hunter, who won a Gold Glove in each of the previous nine seasons and has committed only in his last 338 games in the outfield, has pulled back home run bids by opposing players more than 30 times in his career -- including one by Barry Bonds in the 2002 All-Star game at Milwaukee's Miller Park -- according to the Angels.

For a moment, it appeared that McGehee would be Hunter's next victim. He timed his leap perfectly, but the ball spun off the webbing of his glove and disappeared behind the center-field fence -- right behind an advertisement promoting Joe Saunders bobblehead night. Saunders was the one who threw the pitch.

McGehee was hit by a pitch from Trevor Bell during Milwaukee's five-run seventh, after Wolf had plunked Maicer Izturis and Kendrick two innings apart. McGehee was forced at second on Carlos Gomez's grounder to fill-in first baseman Kevin Frandsen, who made shortstop Erick Aybar stretch way to his right -- leaving him vulnerable to McGehee's straight-on slide.

The knee-on-knee collision left Aybar with a hyperextended left knee, and he had to be helped off by trainer Ned Bergert and an assistant. McGehee was booed by the crowd of 39,289 as he left the field, and got the same treatment when he came up in the ninth.

The Brewers turned a 2-0 deficit into a 5-2 lead in the third. George Kottaras had an RBI double that snapped an 0-for-16 drought, and Braun drove his 10th homer and third career grand slam into the rock pile in left-center. Corey Hart, who had three hits added a two-run double in the seventh off Bell. Two batters later, Braun singled home another run.

Frandsen started at first base for the first time in the major leagues, becoming the fourth player the Angels have started at that position in 16 games since Kendry Morales went down for the season with a broken left leg. They are 12-4 since then, with Robb Quinlan, Michael Ryan and catcher Mike Napoli also helping fill the void there.

NOTES: Saunders has a 9.41 ERA in his 29 career losses, and a 1.97 ERA in his 53 victories. He was 4-1 over his previous six outings, including a pair of wins over Oakland's Dallas Braden that came after Braden pitched his perfect game. ... Braun is on track to become the first player in Brewers history to start in three consecutive All-Star games. He leads all NL outfielders in the fan balloting, after garnering the most outfield votes in each of the previous two years. ... RHP Dylan Covey, the Brewers' selection with the 14th overall pick in last week's draft, attended the game with his parents and two brothers. Covey, who played his high school ball in Pasadena, Calif., was in full Brewers uniform with his name and No. 7 on the back of his jersey while the team took batting practice.

[Associated Press]

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