VENUE: Great American Ball Park
Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder apologized Tuesday for his role in a dugout fight with a teammate, and manager Ned Yost said he hoped his team would benefit from the incident in the long run.
Hours later, the Brewers got off to a good start by routing the Cincinnati Reds.
The Brewers hope to build on that win as they close a three-game series against the Reds at Great American Ball Park on Wednesday.
Fielder was involved in a scuffle with pitcher Manny Parra during Monday night's 6-3 loss to Cincinnati. The teammates exchanged words in the dugout and Fielder shoved Parra twice before teammates intervened.
Fielder apologized Tuesday for his actions and admitted they were partially caused by his frustration with the Brewers' recent struggles. Monday's defeat was the seventh in nine games for Milwaukee (63-51), which had charged out of the All-Star break with seven straight wins.
"It's just a little disagreement," Fielder said. "I apologize for the way it went down, but I don't apologize for the passion and intensity. I definitely could have handled it a little better, but just at that moment, that's how it went down. I can't take it back. The way I handled it probably could have been dealt with better.
"We're a good team and we haven't been playing well. Things happen. Like I said, we're not in middle school; we should be able to get over it."
Yost said he's not overly concerned with the incident, and admitted it could even be good for his team as it tries to make the playoffs for the first time since 1982.
"These things could be very, very beneficial for a team," he said. "Yes, they could be detrimental, or they could be very, very beneficial. They sure can, and not only for the team but for individual players. I guess we'll find out."
The early returns looked good Tuesday night, when Fielder hit a two-run home run and scored twice in the Brewers' 8-1 win over the Reds.
"Today I think we did come through a little bit," said Fielder, batting .375 (12-for-32) with six homers and a .474 on-base percentage during a nine-game hitting streak. "It was a lot of fun."
The loss was the ninth in 11 games for the Reds (52-62), who haven't fared well behind Wednesday's starter Homer Bailey (0-5, 7.55 ERA).
The Reds have lost each of Bailey's seven major-league starts this season, and the right-hander is winless in both the majors and minors since getting a victory for Triple-A Louisville on April 30. He was tagged for five runs in two innings of a 5-2 loss to Washington on Friday.
"I was damn near putting it on a tee for them," Bailey said. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, as long as they don't cut your arms off - and they're still attached."
Bailey, who gave up two runs in 5 2-3 innings of his first career start against the Brewers on July 13, will match up against Milwaukee's Jeff Suppan (6-7, 4.75).
The right-hander delivered one of his best starts of the year Friday, holding Atlanta to five hits in seven innings of a 9-0 victory. Suppan is 3-2 with a 5.33 ERA in 13 career starts against the Reds, including 1-0 with a 3.12 ERA in his last four starts against them - all Milwaukee victories.
Mostly sunny. Warm.
