Hall's slam, 5 RBIs help Brewers sweep slumping Giants

Brewers 7, Giants 5

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Brian Shouse screamed at catcher Damian Miller in the sixth inning, trying to alert him that a second Giants runner was racing home.

No help. With the Milwaukee crowd roaring, Miller couldn't hear his pitcher at all. It was a voice from the front row that saved Miller, who had scampered near the third-base dugout to retrieve an errant throw.

"I had a fan yell at me, 'Home, home, home' when I was right there," Miller said. "You can't hear anything when the players yell at you, but there was a fan right in the front row yelling 'home.' Must have been a Brewers fan."

Shouse took Miller's toss and tagged Kevin Frandsen at the plate to prevent the tying run from scoring, and the Brewers swept the struggling Giants 7-5 on Wednesday to extend San Francisco's losing streak to seven games.

It's the longest slide for the Giants since they dropped nine straight from July 23 to Aug. 1 last year. San Francisco finished its road trip 0-6 and has a day off Thursday before a weekend series at home with the New York Yankees.

"We're going bad and we know it," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy, who was ejected in the sixth. "It's amazing how when you're going bad it seems like everything goes against you, too."

Bill Hall hit a grand slam and Milwaukee jumped out to a 6-0 lead against Barry Zito, but San Francisco scored five runs in the sixth beginning with a grand slam by Bengie Molina. The inning concluded with an unusual sequence that included a pinch-hit appearance by Barry Bonds and Bochy's ejection.

Molina hit his fourth career slam off Brewers starter Claudio Vargas (6-1) to make it 6-4. Shouse then gave up singles to Nate Schierholtz and Frandsen, putting two on with one out.

Bonds, who didn't add any home runs to his total of 748 in the three-game series, batted for reliever Steve Kline and hit a sharp grounder into right field. Second baseman Rickie Weeks threw wildly for a two-base error, and the ball rolled around the backstop like "a hockey puck going around the boards," Miller said.

Schierholtz scored to make it 6-5 and Frandsen bowled over Shouse, who was limping afterward with a bruised shin.

"I saw [Miller] jogging after the ball and I thought it was going to roll farther than it did. He made a great throw home," Frandsen said. "I didn't think it was stupid at the time, but obviously it was."

On the next play, Bochy was ejected after Dave Roberts was called out at first by umpire Brian Knight. Replays showed Roberts appeared to beat a throw by shortstop Craig Counsell, and Bochy said he was shocked by the call that ended the Giants' rally.

"We're not making excuses, but a call like that is huge," Bochy said. "A lot of calls are hard to tell, but that was pretty obvious. You're fighting back to get back in it and you get a bad break. That's what really hurts."

The gravity of what happened in his matchup with Bonds hit Shouse in the clubhouse afterward.

"I guess that was the go-ahead run, wasn't it? Great," Shouse said. "He had one thing on his mind, to go up there and hit a home run, I'm sure."

Bonds is 1-for-4 against Shouse after hitting a homer off the sidearming lefty on Aug. 18, 1993. Bonds declined to talk to reporters after the game.

Milwaukee answered in the sixth on Geoff Jenkins' RBI single to make it 7-5. Carlos Villanueva and Derrick Turnbow each worked a perfect inning before Francisco Cordero finished for his major league-leading 27th save in 29 chances.

Milwaukee has won seven of eight since being no-hit by Detroit's Justin Verlander on June 12, concluding a 6-13 stretch. The NL Central-leading Brewers made short work of another San Francisco starter for their first sweep since May 7-9 against Washington.

In this series, the Giants trailed early in every game. Their starters -- Noah Lowry, Tim Lincecum and Zito -- gave up 17 runs, 19 hits and eight walks in 13 2/3 innings to finish with an 11.20 ERA.

Hall drove in a career-high five runs -- all against Zito, who has lost his last three starts while giving up 15 runs in 13 1/3 innings.

Zito (6-8) allowed six runs and five hits in four innings Wednesday. He struck out three and said he felt fine despite the poor results and velocity. He never topped 86 mph on the stadium radar gun.

After a leadoff single in the first, Zito walked J.J. Hardy and hit Prince Fielder with an 84 mph fastball. Hall fouled off four pitches before hitting his eighth home run to make it 4-0.

"I wasn't looking for anything," Hall said. "I fought off a lot of tough pitches. He was basically fastball-changeup to me until he threw me the curveball."

Zito gave up two more runs in the third on Ryan Braun's RBI double and Hall's sacrifice fly.

Game notes
Bonds has three homers in his last 97 at-bats after hitting 11 in his first 76. ... Hardy left in the fourth with lower back tightness. He missed Tuesday's game with a sore left hip. ... It was Hall's second career slam and the Brewers' fourth this season. Last year, Milwaukee was the only team that didn't have any. ... Giants right-hander Matt Cain will start Friday against the Yankees. He is 2-7 with a 3.15 ERA and leads the team in several statistical categories.