Closing argument
Santos states his case well as Brewers turn back Cubs

Drew Olson
July 6, 2004

When the 2004 season started, Chicago Cubs pitcher Mark Prior was on the disabled list with right Achilles tendinitis, waiting to get healthy. Milwaukee's Victor Santos was with Class AAA Indianapolis, waiting for an opportunity.

Their paths intersected Tuesday night at Miller Park and the result was riveting, if unexpected.

Prior, a former No. 1 draft pick, National League all-star and Cy Young candidate, took the mound as a heavy favorite in the border war and was out of the game after four innings.

Santos, who has been beating the odds since he arrived at the Brewers' spring training camp as a non-roster invitee, pitched into the seventh and helped his club take a 4-2 victory before a spirited sellout crowd of 42,295.

"Victor was fantastic," said Milwaukee manager Ned Yost, whose club will try to close out a sweep tonight. "He was on the attack. He was making pitches when he needed to make them. He had a great curveball and a good split. He just did another great job for us."

With half their season complete, the Brewers are 43-38 - their first winning record at the midpoint since 1998. Santos' emergence from obscurity to a share of the team lead in victories has been one of the unsung reasons for the success.

How has he done it?

"My control has been better and I've been keeping the ball down," said Santos, who looks as cool and calm meeting reporters in front of his locker as he does on the mound.

While Santos' simple explanation was appropriate,there is no easy way to describe the method the Brewers have used in winning the first two games against the Cubs. For the second consecutive game, the Brewers did all their scoring in the first inning and held on thanks to their pitching and defense.

The Brewers have collected just seven hits in two games. Craig Counsell's solo homer was the big shot in the opener. Keith Ginter's two-run homer in the first off Prior set the tone on Tuesday.

Scott Podsednik opened the first inning with a grounder that skipped past shortstop Ramon Martinez and went for a double. Craig Counsell followed with a perfect bunt to rookie Brendan Harris, who fielded the ball on a dead run and threw wildly to first base. Podsednik scored and Counsell - whose sacrifice was changed to a hit after the game - ended up on second.

After retiring Geoff Jenkins and Lyle Overbay, Prior gave up a run-scoring double to Ben Grieve and then grooved a 3-1 fastball to Ginter, who hammered it over the wall in left-center for his ninth homer of the year and the third of his career off Prior.

"He's a smart guy," Ginter said of Prior. "He knows what he's doing. Sometimes, he leaves balls over the middle of the plate and he gets hurt like anybody else."

Santos retired the first six men, but got into trouble in the third. Michael Barrett and Martinez doubled, Prior put down a sacrifice and Harris ripped a 1-2 pitch for his first big-league hit - a RBI double.

After walking Sammy Sosa, Santos retired Moises Alou on a foul out to end an inning that consumed only 20 pitches.

The turning point of Santos' night probably came in the third. After giving up a leadoff triple to Corey Patterson, he set the Cubs down in order after that and eventually turned the game over to the Brewers' bullpen for the final seven outs.

Mike Adams finished the seventh, Luis Vizcaino worked the eighth, surviving a near-homer by Sammy Sosa, and Dan Kolb worked the ninth for his 26th save.

Brewers fans, shouted down by the Cubs' counterparts for much of the night, had a few anxious moments in the ninth. Kolb, who is heading to the all-star game next week, struggled with his control while warming up and compensated by pumping his velocity to 96 mph.

Lee led off the ninth with a grounder to Wes Helms, who threw the ball away. Barrett followed with a line drive that Overbay snared. After a groundout by Martinez, Kolb was a strike away from finishing the game when Jose Macias reached on an infield hit.

With the crowd roaring, Mark Grudzielanek grounded out to Helms.