The likelihood of Prince Fielder not making Milwaukee his baseball home beyond 2011 wasn't weighing very heavily on Brewers fans' minds Tuesday night. They were way too busy waving their flags and cheering as Fielder's three-homerun, five-RBI eruption led them to a big�6-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Surprisingly, the three-homer game was the first of Fielder's already prolific career. And to make it more impressive, each swing took on a greater importance as the moved along.
He started with a solo homerun in the third that momentarily tied the score. Rickie Weeks then followed with a monster homerun of his own.�His second was a two-run moonshot in the fifth that gave Miwaukee a 4-3 lead. And then the third, final, and most decisive homerun was a two-run shot off Jared Hughes in the seventh that broke the 4-4 tie, and provided the difference in the game.
The homers were Fielder's 36th, 37th and 38th of the season, tying him with Matt Kemp for National League lead.
And who knows? If not for Corey Hart getting picked off first in the bottom of the eighth with Ryan Braun at the plate, Fielder may have had the opportunity to not only overtake Kemp, but to become the 16th player to hit four home runs in a single game.
That would have made for quite the dramatic plate appearance.
As for Milwaukee, the win was their 95th of the season, which equals their franchise record. But much more importantly than that, it moved baseball's best home team (56-24) one step closer to hosting their LDS matchup against a yet to be determined opponent.
Now they turn their attention to Wednesday, where all they need to lock up home field is another win over Pittsburgh or an Arizona Diamondbacks loss. In the event neither occur, Milwaukee will be on the road come Saturday. That extra incentive, according to Fielder, is very much welcomed.
"There is no 'turning it back on,'" he said. "I'm actually glad we have this little extra incentive to play hard, just to keep it going. You never want to have to turn it back on when in the playoffs, at least I think so. I think you want to go in there playing hard, solid baseball. I think we're doing that, and hopefully it pays off."
It's apparent the Diamondbacks also subscribe to that theory based on their ridiculous 10th inning rally and victory last night. Their comeback, coupled with the importance of Milwaukee securing home field, helps set up another interesting storyline on what very well could be the most action packed final day of a baseball regular in recent memory.
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