Brewers beat Bucs on Fielders’ RBI single in ninth

Milwaukee has won 14 of its last 17 games at home.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Prince Fielder singled in Rickie Weeks with one out in the bottom of the ninth and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 on Saturday night for their second straight win.

Pirates reliever Tyler Yates (3-2) was in trouble from the start, walking Weeks to lead off the inning. J.J. Hardy’s sacrifice bunt ended his 16-game hitting streak but put the winning run in scoring position and Yates intentionally walked Ryan Braun to bring up Fielder.

Fielder drove Yates’ fastball to left-center field to lift Milwaukee to its 14th win at home in the past 17. Brewers reliever Eric Gagne (2-2) got the win by working around a one-out single to Jason Bay in the ninth.

The Brewers wasted a chance in the eighth when Bill Hall doubled to lead off the inning off Pirates starter Paul Maholm.

The Brewers then got caught in a baserunning blunder when Jason Kendall hit a chopper up the middle. Shortstop Jack Wilson threw to third and caught Hall in a rundown. Jose Bautista tagged Hall and alertly fired to first, where Kendall had made the turn and couldn’t avoid being tagged out by Adam LaRoche.

Pinch hitter Gabe Kapler then hit a fly ball to left that would have been deep enough for a sacrifice fly that instead ended the inning.

Both Brewers starter Dave Bush and Maholm had some of their best stuff this season while wearing uniforms representing the Milwaukee Bears (1923) and Pittsburgh Crawfords (1931-’38) of the Negro National League.

Bush, who took a no-hitter into the eighth in his most recent home start, mixed his array of pitches and allowed four hits while striking out a season-high seven over eight innings.

Maholm, the lefty who has a 2.43 ERA over his past seven starts, allowed only Mike Cameron’s solo homer in the second while giving up four hits and striking out six.

The Pirates tied the game in the fifth on consecutive doubles by LaRoche and Bautista.

Cameron, who hit his 14th homer of the season in the second, just missed on a diving attempt of LaRoche’s fly and Bautista drove his hit over Cameron’s head, but Bush worked out of the jam by retiring the next three.