The New York Mets Omir Santos celebrates after hitting the first grand slam at Citi Field in New York as Florida Marlins catcher John Baker watches on Monday.
MILWAUKEE – Ex-Arizona Wildcat Trevor Hoffman waited so long for his first appearance with Milwaukee that he got a call from manager Ken Macha asking him if he still wanted to pitch.
Rickie Weeks broke open a tie game in the eighth inning with a run-scoring fielder’s choice that sparked a five-run rally, lifting the Milwaukee Brewers to a 10-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night.
Milwaukee fans then got to hear AC/DC’s “Hells Bells” for the first time this season when Hoffman entered in the ninth for his first outing in a Brewers uniform. He worked a 1-2-3 inning on 13 pitches.
“Everybody was pretty excited to hear the music,” said Hoffman, who said the song really should only be played in save situations. “The first one, I understand, everybody’s allowed a mulligan. We did it spring training, too, so we’ll try and not get the other team fired up.”
Weeks, who had a career-high four RBIs, hit a three-run homer, and Ryan Braun and Mike Cameron also connected for Milwaukee – all off Jeff Karstens – which won its 13th in a row over Pittsburgh, but needed the extra runs after the bullpen squandered a 5-3 lead in the eighth.
Milwaukee’s five-run outburst in the bottom of the inning spoiled a potential save situation for all-time saves leader Hoffman, who was primed and ready but stood watching in the bullpen while the Brewers kept pouring it on.
“It was a long wait, kind of obviously felt longer because of the circumstances,” said Hoffman, who has 554 saves. “But, when you’re scoring five runs, nobody’s going to be upset about it. I’m not into drama. Those guys did a great job.”
Mets 7, Marlins 1: At New York, Omir Santos hit the first grand slam in Citi Field history for his first career RBIs.
Cardinals 3, Braves 2: At Atlanta, Rick Ankiel drove in two runs for St. Louis to back another strong outing by starter Joel Pineiro.
Astros 4, Reds 1: At Cincinnati, Lance Berkman hit his 20th homer at Great American Ball Park, the most by any visiting player.
Phillies 13, Nationals 11: At Philadelphia, Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez each hit a grand slam, rallying the Phillies to a wild victory.
Rockies 12, Padres 7: At Denver, Dexter Fowler tied a modern-day rookie mark with five stolen bases as the Rockies ran past the Padres.
Giants 5, Dodgers 4: Edgar Renteria put the Giants ahead when he scored on Bengie Molina’s slow groundout to third in the eighth inning.
AL: Red Sox win 11th straight
CLEVELAND – Jason Bay hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning off Cleveland’s Kerry Wood to give the Red Sox their 11th straight win, 3-1 over the Indians.
Tigers 4, Yankees 2: At Detroit, Justin Verlander had a season-high nine strikeouts and Magglio Ordonez hit a two-run homer off CC Sabathia to lead the Tigers over the Yankees.
Rangers 6, Orioles 4: At Baltimore, Michael Young homered, David Murphy broke a tie with a two-run single in the sixth inning and the Rangers rallied to beat Baltimore.
Royals 7, Blue Jays 1: At Kansas City, Mo., Brian Bannister gave up one hit over seven innings and Jose Guillen hit two homers for the Royals.
Rays 7, Twins 1: At Minneapolis, Jeff Niemann kept the Twins guessing into the sixth inning and Carlos Pena hit his ninth home run for Tampa Bay.
Mariners at White Sox: The game was rained out, and will be made up as part of a day-night doubleheader Tuesday.