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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- When Jeff D'Amico got into trouble for the
first time this month, Curtis Leskanic was there to help.
D'Amico closed a magnificent July by hitting his first major
league home run and allowing seven hits in eight-plus innings as
the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Colorado Rockies 3-2 Sunday.
|  | | Pitching wasn't Jeff D'Amico's only forte Sunday -- he homered for his first major league hit. |
D'Amico went 5-0 in July with an 0.76 ERA, which actually rose
by 0.31 against the Rockies. Todd Helton's fourth-inning homer was
the only run he allowed until the ninth, when Colorado got three
straight singles and cut the Brewers' lead to 3-2.
Leskanic, in his first appearance since becoming the Brewers'
closer, got two outs before intentionally walking Jeff Cirillo to
load the bases. Brian Hunter then grounded out, and Leskanic
happily bumped heads with catcher Raul Casanova as Milwaukee
celebrated.
"This is the kind of win we haven't been getting a lot this
season," said Leskanic, who was promoted to closer when Bob
Wickman was traded Friday. "We got great pitching, we got
timely hitting, we had good defense and we were able to close it
out at the end."
In the fifth, D'Amico hit a 405-foot homer to right-center
against Masato Yoshii. The County Stadium crowd coaxed D'Amico out
of the dugout for a curtain call.
It was the first big league hit in 27 at-bats for D'Amico, who
missed all but one inning of the Brewers' last two seasons while
battling injuries. The last time D'Amico was a regular major
leaguer, Milwaukee was in the AL.
"I've been swinging the bat decent in batting practice,"
D'Amico said with a shrug. "He threw it up there, and I guess it
hit my bat. I didn't know it was out at first. I didn't want to
make a fool out of myself on a ground-rule double."
D'Amico became the third pitcher this season to hit a homer for
his first major league hit. Tampa Bay's Esteban Yan and
Cincinnati's Danny Graves accomplished the feat earlier this year.
Though the Brewers slumped to the majors' second-worst record in
July, D'Amico (7-4) has been nearly unhittable since returning from
the disabled list June 30.
D'Amico allowed more than five hits just twice in six starts,
and until the ninth inning Sunday, all three of the runs he had
allowed in July came on solo homers. He struck out two and walked
two.
"He's as good as there is in the big leagues right now,"
Milwaukee manager Davey Lopes said. "He's in a groove and he's
throwing very confidently."
The victory was especially sweet for Leskanic, who is Colorado's
career leader in appearances but was traded to Milwaukee in the
off-season. When asked how it felt to shut down a team that gave up
on him, Leskanic only smiled.
"He did a good job. He did a lot better job than he was
expected to do," Colorado manager Buddy Bell said. "He got three
outs when they desperately needed them."
Geoff Jenkins and Jeromy Burnitz hit solo homers in the sixth
inning against Yoshii (4-12), who had allowed just two singles
before D'Amico's homer. It was another difficult outing for Yoshii,
who lost his fifth straight decision despite holding Milwaukee to
five hits in six innings.
"These last couple of outings were very close games, and a home
run decided the game," Yoshii said. "It's pretty much my fault."
Jenkins also played a large role in the ninth inning by doing
nothing. With one out and Helton on third base, Brent Mayne flied
out to mid-right field, but Helton didn't try to score because of
Jenkins' strong arm.
Milwaukee took two of three games from Colorado in their weekend
series, which began hours after the Brewers traded pitchers
Wickman, Jason Bere and Steve Woodard to Cleveland for Richie
Sexson and pitchers Paul Rigdon and Kane Davis.
Sexson made his Brewers debut Sunday, starting at first base
and taking Burnitz's customary cleanup spot. He went 0-for-3 with a
strikeout, though he nimbly stopped two difficult ground balls and
made a running catch of a foul ball.
Game notes
A rain shower broke over County Stadium 40 minutes before
the game, but in the three minutes it took to get the tarpaulin on
the field, the rain stopped. The grounds crew didn't remove the
tarp until 15 minutes before game time. ... Burnitz, the subject of
numerous trade rumors, fouled a ball off his foot in the fourth
inning and spent several moments on the ground in pain. He
eventually returned to the batter's box, but struck out. Burnitz
was bumped to fifth in the batting order and went 0-for-1 with a
homer and a walk. ... Before the game, Milwaukee designated
outfielder Chris Jones for assignment and added Davis to the
roster.
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Baseball Scoreboard
Colorado Clubhouse
Milwaukee Clubhouse
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