Ninth-inning nosedive: Wickman blows it again



The Tribe closer wasted a terrific outing by Jake Westbrook.
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Geoff Jenkins hit a two-run single in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Milwaukee Brewers over the Cleveland Indians 3-2 Saturday night.
Bob Wickman (1-2) blew his second save in 11 opportunities and wasted Jake Westbrook's dominating performance in a duel with Brewers starter Dave Bush.
Wickman got the first out of the ninth, but then walked Carlos Lee and Prince Fielder. Bill Hall hit a soft single to load the bases for Jenkins, who is now hitting .295 with runners in scoring position despite his .256 overall average.
Jose Capellan (2-0) pitched a scoreless ninth to get the win.
Strong start
Westbrook was coming off a commanding win on the road against the White Sox and had the game in hand when he left after eight innings. He retired nine in a row at one point and struck out the side in the first. Westbrook allowed just five hits and an unearned run.
The Indians grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Ronnie Belliard's fielder's choice scored Jhonny Peralta, who has eight hits in his last 12 at-bats. Westbrook helped his own cause with an RBI double, his first major league hit in his eighth career plate appearance.
That was it for the Indians against Bush, who allowed four hits and two walks in eight innings. He struck out six, but he received little help after Hall and the Brewers squandered chances in the second and seventh.
Hall failed to score in the second after a double when he was thrown out at the plate by Franklin Gutierrez, who fired a perfect strike from right field to catcher Victor Martinez, who tagged out the sliding Hall for the final out of the inning.
Hall was picked off first before Jenkins' double in the seventh, and Jenkins was left stranded.
The Brewers got to Westbrook, who struck out eight, in the sixth. Gabe Gross hit a flare single and made it to third on a pair of groundouts. First baseman Ben Broussard then let an easy roller by Corey Koskie scoot under his glove to cut the Indians' lead to 2-1.
CLEVELANDMILWAUKEE
abrhbiabrhbi
Szmore cf3000Weeks 2b4000
Boone 3b4000Koskie 3b4000
Brssrd 1b4000CaLee lf3100
VMrtnz c4010Fildr 1b3010
JhPlta ss4120CHart pr0100
Hlndsw lf3010BHall ss4020
Blliard 2b4001Jenkins rf4022
Gutierrez rf4110DMiller c3010
Wstbrk p3011Gross cf3110
Wckmn p0000Bush p2000
Cirillo ph1000
Cpllan p0000
Totals33262Totals31372
Cleveland020000000--2
Milwaukee000001002--3
One out when winning run scored.
E--Broussard (5). LOB--Cleveland 6, Milwaukee 5. 2B--JhPeralta (13), Hollandsworth (8), Westbrook (1), BHall (18), Jenkins (15).
IPHRERBBSO
Cleveland
Westbrook851008
Wickman L,1-2 1-322220
Milwaukee
Bush842226
Capellan W,2-0120001
WP--Bush 2. PB--DMiller. Umpires--Home, Jeff Nelson; First, Derryl Cousins; Second, Tim Timmons; Third, Joe Brinkman. T--2:29. A--42,069.
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