Milwaukee, WI – Michael Cuddyer came on as a pinch-hitter in the top of the ninth and delivered a go-ahead RBI single to propel the Rockies to a 4-3 victory over the Brewers in the first of three games at Miller Park on Friday.
It was 3-3 in the ninth when Jason Giambi led off the frame with a single and was lifted in favor of pinch-runner Eric Young. Young quickly moved to second on a throwing error from John Axford (0-1) before advancing to third on a sacrifice fly from Marco Scutaro.
Cuddyer then stepped to the plate in place of Dexter Fowler and smacked a 1-1 curveball back up the middle, scoring Young for the go-ahead run.
Matt Belisle (1-0) fanned both Brewers he faced in the eighth to record the victory while Rafael Betancourt worked around a one-out double in the bottom of the ninth for his fourth save of the year.
Starter Jhoulys Chacin surrendered three runs on four hits with six strikeouts over seven innings for the Rockies, while Troy Tulowitzki had two hits and knocked in a run and Todd Helton added a solo shot. Colorado has now won three straight.
Norichika Aoki had two of Milwaukee's five hits, including his first major league home run, an inside-the-park homer in the fourth. Sean Marcum lasted six innings in the start and allowed three runs on eight hits for the Brewers, who took two of three from the Dodgers earlier in the week.
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