Gamel’s 10th-inning RBI double leads Brewers over Astros 8-6

Brewers beat Astros 8-6 in 10 innings

HOUSTON — Milwaukee manager Ken Macha was happy with a number of things in his team’s wild 8-6, 10-inning win over the Houston Astros on Wednesday.

The biggest plus for the manager was that the Brewers were able to come back after blowing a big lead.

“I just feel good that the guys played all the way to the end,” Macha said.

Mat Gamel hit the go-ahead double in the 10th inning that avoided a series sweep. Ryan Braun homered and drove in three runs for the Brewers, who lost the first two games of the series 4-2 and 3-2.

With the score 6-6, Carlos Gomez singled off Matt Lindstrom (2-5), stole second and took third on an error by catcher Jason Castro. Gamel’s double drove in the tiebreaking run, he advanced on a wild pitch, and Jonathan Lucroy’s single chased Lindstrom.

John Axford (8-1) walked one in two scoreless innings for the win.

Milwaukee led 5-0, then trailed 6-5 before Braun’s RBI double off Brandon Lyon tied it in the ninth. Corey Hart had hit a ground-rule double down the right-field line.

“It’s kind of frustrating for all of us the way we get down early and come back and can’t shut the door,” Lyon said.

Houston hadn’t managed a hit off starter Dave Bush before consecutive singles by Carlos Lee and Chris Johnson in the fifth. Lee scored after an error by first baseman Prince Fielder that allowed Brett Wallace to reach.

Angel Sanchez extended his hitting streak to a career-high nine games when he singled in Johnson. Rookie Brian Bogusevic, who was pinch hitting, drove in the first two runs of his career with a single that made it 5-4. Jeff Keppinger’s run-scoring single that chased Bush, and Hunter Pence’s RBI single off Kameron Loe gave Houston a 6-5 lead.

“It was kind of strange really,” Macha said. “Bush had four perfect innings and then he just couldn’t stop what was going on there.”

Milwaukee finally got out of the inning when Lee grounded into a double play.

“We jump off to a nice lead and then they take the lead and then it’s the battle of the bullpens,” Macha said. “Our bullpen gave up one hit and that was the first hitter.”

Bush allowed six runs and five hits in 4 1-3 innings. He couldn’t explain what went wrong in the fifth inning after such a good start.

“I think maybe two balls were hit hard the whole inning, a couple of ground balls went through and it all just kind of added up and it happened really quickly,” Bush said. “I felt like there was some at bats where I made some pretty good pitches and I just couldn’t get guys out.”

Astros starter J.A. Happ gave up seven runs and five hits in 4 1-3 innings.

“It was weird simply because J.A. Happ’s been so good for so long, and they were able to jump on him right away,” Houston manager Brad Mills said. “He settled down for three innings and really did a good job.”

Rickie Weeks broke an 0 for 17 slump with leadoff homer in the first, and Braun homered for the second consecutive day for a 3-0 lead. Hart’s RBI double and Fielder’s run-scoring single chased Happ in the fifth.

NOTES: Houston reliever Felipe Paulino made his first appearance since June 20. Paulino, who had been out with right shoulder tendinitis, walked one in a scoreless sixth. … Weeks scored twice to move within two runs of being the first Milwaukee leadoff hitter since 1998 to reach 100.