Bullpen blows it in solid debut for Bonser

The Twins rookie held the Brewers to one run and five hits in his major league debut, but it all went for naught.

By Joe Christensen, Star Tribune

Last update: May 21, 2006 - 10:06 PM

MILWAUKEE - A weekend of pleasant surprises ended Sunday with the worst kind of shock for the Twins.

Nine outs from their first sweep in Milwaukee since 1978, they lined up a rare save situation for their bullpen, and watched Jesse Crain blow it in a wicked span of five batters.

The Brewers smoked four quick hits off Crain to overcome a two-run deficit and held on for a 5-3 victory at Miller Park.

Afterward, the Twins tried to dwell on the big picture. They won the first two games with Francisco Liriano and Scott Baker on the mound, and watched Boof Bonser hold a 3-1 lead through six innings in his major league debut.

"We came in and had a good series," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "It doesn't feel that way because you lose today when you had the lead, and normally your bullpen is pretty good. But you win two out of three here against a team that's been very hot -- that's pretty good."

Before the Twins arrived, Milwaukee had won four consecutive home games -- one against the Mets and three against the Phillies -- with dramatic late- inning comebacks. In the first two games against Minnesota, the Brewers were outscored 23-11 but came back with a vengeance against Crain.

The Twins wasted Bonser's performance, as he held the Brewers to one run on five hits. Tony Batista's fifth homer of the season, a two-run shot, had given Minnesota a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning.

"Definitely frustrating," Crain said. "Frustrating for the team. Frustrating for Boof -- he was in line for the win. That's baseball, and things happen like that. All you can do is come back the next day and throw well."

The Twins have generated a major league-low eight save opportunities, wasting the talents of All-Star closer Joe Nathan, who has but five saves through 44 games.

That's been a byproduct of their starting pitching struggles. But the Twins also won some games by big margins.

On Friday, for example, Crain did a masterful job protecting a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning, but Nathan lost a chance for a save when the Twins broke out with five runs in the eighth.

This time, pinch hitter Rickie Weeks ignited the Brewers with a triple that sailed over the head of right fielder Michael Cuddyer, who froze for a moment trying to get a read on the screaming line drive.

Brady Clark and Jeff Cirillo followed with singles, and Carlos Lee delivered the big blow, ripping a two-run double into the left-center field gap to make it 4-3.

Gardenhire pulled Crain, replacing him with Juan Rincon, and the Brewers got two more hits, including a broken-bat run-scoring single for Bill Hall, before the inning finally ended.

Bonser, who arrived from Class AAA Rochester on Friday, watched it all from the dugout, but he wasn't about to criticize anyone.

"You know what?" he said. "Maybe next time they get me out of a big jam."

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