Braun powers Brewers to second straight win over Twins
By: Nick Goddard
Updated: June 16, 2012
Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - Ryan Braun slugged two of Milwaukee's four solo home runs, and the Brewers went on to post a 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.
Aramis Ramirez and Cody Ransom also went deep for Milwaukee, which snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-3 win in Friday's series opener.
Michael Fiers (2-2) limited Minnesota to one run on four hits in seven strong innings. He struck out five and walked two.
"Commanded the ball better and changed speeds really well," Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said about Fiers.
Josh Willingham and Ben Revere both knocked in a run for the Twins, who have dropped four straight.
Liam Hendriks (0-3) allowed five runs -- two earned -- on eight hits over five frames.
"Hendriks was behind the count quite a bit," said Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire. "It was one of those games where nothing really good happened."
The Brewers took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on Norichika Aoki's two-out, two-run single. A base hit by Rickie Weeks and a fielding error by Minnesota second baseman Jamey Carroll put runners on first and third with no outs. After Ransom was called out on strikes, Martin Maldonado attempted a safety squeeze but Weeks didn't come home. Aoki then delivered with a single to right.
Milwaukee extended its lead when Braun and Ramirez hit back-to-back home runs to begin the third.
A two-out single by Revere plated Darin Mastroianni, who doubled, in the bottom of the inning.
Braun added his 19th home run of the season in the fifth when his at-bat was prolonged after Carroll dropped a pop-up in foul territory. Ransom then crushed Anthony Swarzak's first pitch out of the bullpen over the left-field wall, stretching the lead to 6-1 in the sixth.
Willingham hit an RBI single in the eighth to account for the final score.
Game Notes
Braun, who finished 3-for-4 with a walk, now has a 21-game hitting streak in interleague play...Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe walked three times and flew out in his lone at-bat. He had homered in four consecutive games.
