Brew Crew blast past Pirates
Branyan's two two-run homers lifts Brewers
MILWAUKEE -- Wondering how to spell Branyan?
Need directions to the auxiliary ticket office in left field?
Just follow the soaring baseballs.
Russell Branyan crushed a pair of monstrous two-run home runs and powered
Doug Davis and the Brewers to a 6-2 win over the Pirates in front of 42,458
on Opening Day at Miller Park.
"I can't explain any better moment in the game than making contact like that
and seeing the ball fly," Branyan said.
Those in the sellout crowd, including new owner Mark Attanasio, probably felt
the same way. Branyan put a charge into the festivities in the second inning
when he crushed a Kip Wells (0-2) pitch 465 feet off the center-field
scoreboard -- just a few feet below his name in the lineup -- for a 2-0
Brewers lead. After the Pirates tied it with two runs in the fourth, Branyan
cracked a 399-foot, two run homer in the bottom of the inning.
It was the 10th multi-home run game of Branyan's career and the first by a
Brewer this season. For the record, it earned Branyan the first curtain call
of the season.
"That's a first for me in my career," said Branyan, who is 5-for-6 in his
last 10 plate appearances against Wells with four walks. "It was a very
lifting moment, the big roar of the crowd. There's a lot of satisfaction
there."
Brady Clark also homered with a solo shot, and made Davis (2-0) a winner.
Davis allowed two runs in seven innings of his second start against Wells and
the Pirates in five days. This time, he struck out seven and walked four.
The left-hander, as usual, had to wiggle out of trouble. Davis faced base
runners in all seven of his innings but was only scored upon once. He walked
Craig Wilson leading off the fourth and Tike Redman followed with an RBI
triple. Ty Wigginton then tied the game at 2 when he blooped a run-scoring
single.
"It's not every day you get to have the opener and have 45,000 fans out there
screaming," Davis said. "I had the adrenaline going. I had to walk around the
mound a couple of times and take some deep breaths to calm myself down."
In his last outing on April 6 at PNC Park, Davis worked the outside corner
and relied on a good change-up. On Monday, that opened up the inside part of
the plate against Pirates hitters, and Davis turned to his cut fastball for
outs when he needed them.
Branyan's blasts certainly helped. The first one gave Milwaukee a 2-0 lead.
The second made it 4-2.
And the home run distances were not just estimates. Before Miller Park opened
in 2001, engineering students from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
surveyed the ballpark and compiled a binder with home run distances to all
points. Last season, Branyan crushed a Greg Maddux pitch 485 feet to right
field, a drive that still stands as the longest in ballpark history.
"It's definitely a 'wow' kind of a thing," said Wells, who was caught
mouthing as much by television crews.
"Daaang, you for real?" said Pirates left-hander and Tuesday starter Mark
Redman when he heard the homer went 465 feet. "I lost track of it halfway up
the scoreboard but I didn't know it went that far."
Davis knows the feeling. He once surrendered a long home run to Barry Bonds
in San Francisco that sailed over the wall and into McCovey Cove.
"I remember the boats coming in, and the ball going over their head," Davis
said.
That is what the Brewers expect to get from Branyan, who has prolific power
to go with sometimes alarming strikeout numbers. He won the starting third
base job with a solid spring during which he shortened his swing and put more
balls in play. Jeff Cirillo moved ahead of Wes Helms on the depth chart and
will probably start Tuesday's game against Redman.
That means Branyan will go to the bench. Still, he figures to get 400-500 or
more at-bats this season.
"This is the first opportunity I've had to win a job," the former Indians and
Reds prospect said. "There's a lot at stake, especially when you're trying to
make adjustments to your approach at the plate. But I'm a more mature player
now. I'm older. I feel solid in the field, defensively, and at the plate I
feel like I'm becoming a better player."
The crowd provided another special moment of its own in the eighth inning.
After second baseman Bobby Hill botched an easy pop-up, allowing Carlos Lee
to score the Brewers' sixth run, Cirillo drew a long standing ovation. He is
the franchise's all-time leader with a .307 batting average, and returned
about a five-year hiatus earning the Major League minimum.
"It was just a magical day," said Cirillo, who homered on Opening Day in
Pittsburgh. "It's something that you don't take for granted. I wish everyone
could experience something like that. ...It was meant to happen. [Hill]
probably won't drop another pop-up all year."
That crowd stayed up through Cirillo's plate appearance, which ended in a
walk. Brady Clark then flew out to end the inning.
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