ekansekans's blog: "df"

CHICAGO -- It usually isnt good when a position player finishes a game on the mound. Dunta Robinson Jersey . Thats where Joe Mather found himself on Monday night. Aramris Ramirez hit two of Milwaukees five homers to lead the Brewers to a 15-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs. It got so bad that when the Brewers scored nine runs in the ninth, Cubs manager Dale Sveum was forced to summon Mather in to finish the inning on the mound, the first position player to pitch for the Cubs since Gary Gaetti on July 3, 1999. "Fastball and a hanging curve, apparently," Mather joked when asked to describe his repertoire. Mather pitched for St. Louis on April 17, 2010, when he gave up two runs in two innings and was the losing pitcher in a 2-1, 20-inning defeat. "It just kind goes back to your childhood and you want to be competitive," Mather said. "You want to get your team out of the situation they were in. You want to get those guys out." Ramirez, who played for the Cubs from 2003-11, hit a two-run shot in the fifth and a solo homer in the ninth as Milwaukee beat Chicago for the sixth straight time. Ramirez is enjoying the view from the visitors dugout. "(Cubs fans) also have to understand that its a process and that the new front office came in with a plan and theyre going to execute it," Ramirez said. "Its going to be painful. Right now they dont have a good product on the field. Im pretty sure theyre smart people. They have a good game plan going." Ramirezs second homer followed a three-run shot by Ryan Braun that landed on Waveland Avenue, his NL-leading 35th of the season. Braun had four hits and five RBIs. Corey Hart followed Ramirez with another shot that reached Waveland, giving Milwaukee back-to-back-to-back homers for the first time since Sept. 9, 2007 at Cincinnati. The Brewers sent 14 batters to the plate and had eight hits in the ninth, finishing with a season-high 21 hits. "We need those guys to pitch when were losing," Sveum said of his young relievers. "Cant just keep throwing (Shawn) Camp and (Manny) Corpas and (James) Russell and those guys into games. Those guys have to somehow get through those innings." Justin Germano (2-4) gave up five runs and 10 hits in five-plus innings and has lost to Milwaukee in two straight outings. "I made three mistakes that led to four runs," Germano said. "Its just hard to be perfect but I have to work on the mistakes that I make, or at least who I make them to." Germano gave up seven runs in 4 2-3 innings against the Brewers in his last outing on Aug. 20. "Kind of the same thing happened a week ago," Sveum said. "Same result, pitching pretty good but couldnt get through the middle of that lineup for the third time." All three ninth-inning homers came off Alex Hinshaw, who was pitching for the second time since being claimed off waivers from San Diego on Aug. 19. Brett Jackson hit his third homer in four games and walked twice for Chicago. Alfonso Soriano added two doubles and drove in a run. The Brewers improved to 18-5 against the Cubs since the 2011 All-Star break, while Chicago has dropped 19 of 25 overall since the July 31 trade deadline. Milwaukee erased a two-run deficit on consecutive pitches in the fifth. Braun rolled a double just past the third base to score Rickie Weeks. Ramirez then clubbed Germanos first pitch into the bleachers in left to give the Brewers the lead. Ramirez hit 239 homers in nine seasons during his time with the Cubs, but went 1 for 11 in his first series against his former team at Wrigley Field on April 9-11. Jackson, Chicagos rookie centre fielder, hit his fourth homer leading off the sixth off Kameron Loe to cut the lead to 5-4. NOTES: Cubs 3B Josh Vitters went 0 for 5 with three strikeouts, falling to 5 for 53 with 19 strikeouts since being recalled from Triple-A Iowa. ... The Cubs acquired C Anthony Recker from Oakland for C/1B Blake Lalli and assigned him to Triple-A Iowa. Chicago also designated LHP Scott Maine for assignment. ... The Cubs were looking to win consecutive games for the first time since winning three straight July 28-30. Matt Ryan Youth Jersey . Quiroz was 2-under on his front nine and went on to post four birdies on his inward nine, finishing atop the leaderboard in only his second start of the year. Roddy White Falcons Jersey . Patrick Rafter, Jim Courier, Michael Chang, Mats Wilander and Todd Martin are also scheduled to compete in the four-player mini-tournaments. Each event will feature one-set semifinals and a one-set title match. http://www.fansfalconsroom.com/julio-jones-jerseys . Their 4-3 come-from-behind victory over Milwaukee on Sunday "kind of felt like old times," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. Michael Turner Womens Jersey . When asked Wednesday if it was money well spent, Smith said it was, because the play helped his team. He said he wasnt asking for any help from his teammates to pay the fine. Early in the second quarter of the Sept. Roddy White Jersey . Fraser, 25, split the 2011-12 AHL season between the Toronto Marlies and Syracuse Crunch, tallying seven assists, a plus-15 rating and 67 penalty minutes in 45 games.CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Lance Berkman expects to come off the disabled list on Saturday and rejoin the St. Louis Cardinals ahead of schedule in his comeback from knee surgery. The first baseman accompanied the team to Cincinnati and had an intensified workout Friday before the opening game of a series against the Reds. The Cardinals planned to activate him a day later. The 36-year-old first baseman tore cartilage in his right knee while stretching for a throw on May 19 and had surgery to clean it out. He didnt want to go on a rehabilitation assignment to the minors, preferring to ease back into an everyday role in the major leagues. "Theres really not a whole lot you can fine-tune until you get back in there and start playing against live competition," Berkman said. "For me, its just making sure I get my body in shape to swing the bat. I dont expect to step back in there and be in midseason form." Berkman has played only 13 games because of a pulled left calf and the knee injury. Allen Craig has started a team-high 28 games at first base, batting .313. Matt Carpenter has started 22 games at the spot and is batting .291. Berkman said the depth at the position will giive him a chance to return to a full-time role gradually. Roddy White Youth Jersey. . "Because we have those guys, I can almost rehab at the big league level by playing a day, having a day off, playing a couple of days and having a day off, that kind of thing," Berkman said. "I dont have to be in there every day." Manager Mike Matheny likes the idea of bringing Berkman back in Cincinnati. He has 23 homers at Great American Ball Park, the most by any visiting player. Matheny acknowledged it will be a challenge to work him into the lineup. "Were going to have to get creative, I dont think anybody has any doubts about that," Matheny said. "Were going to have to get guys rest. Were going to have to have some sort of rotation thats going to work out. Its a nice problem with everybody back." Berkman was batting .333 when he got hurt. "I felt great," he said. "My swing felt great. When I came back from the calf, it felt great. I know my swing pretty well. If I can get locked in like that, I generally end up with a pretty good year. I was definitely in a spot I was happy with. Now its just a matter of trying to get it back to that spot." ' ' '