Houston, TX (Sports Network) - If anyone was going to push the Brewers past Brett Myers and the Astros, it was going to be Prince Fielder.
The slugging first baseman continued to hit well against Myers this season, collecting three hits and four RBI to lead Milwaukee to a 7-5 victory.
Fielder's hits included a three-run homer in the first inning and an RBI double in the sixth, bookending a performance that helped the NL Central- leading Brewers win for the 10th time in 11 games.
While Fielder's output was noteworthy, it was also hardly surprising given how much success he's had against Myers. He is 9-for-11 with two homers and seven RBI against him in 2011, and 13-for-26 with five homers and 13 RBI in his career.
Myers' (3-12) inability to get Fielder out was a primary reason he ended up taking the loss. He allowed six runs -- five earned -- on 11 hits and a walk in six innings, and the Houston offense couldn't completely erase the deficit.
Brewers starter Chris Narveson (8-6) lasted just 5 1/3 innings and allowed four runs, but was bailed out by his offense. Yuniesky Betancourt added four hits and an RBI, while Jonathan Lucroy went 2-for-4 with a home run.
J.D. Martinez, Carlos Lee and Clint Barmes all went deep for Houston, but the homers weren't enough to keep the Astros from falling to 2-3 on their homestand, which ends with Sunday's series finale.
"Offensively, there was a lot of good things," Astros manager Brad Mills said. "We came through and I thought we started swinging the bats a little bit."
The Brewers jumped out to a lead in the first inning, which Corey Hart and Nyjer Morgan began with base hits. Myers retired Ryan Braun, but then dealt an 0-1 pitch inside on Fielder's hands. Fielder managed to get around on the ball, crushing it down the right field line and high off the foul pole for a 3-0 lead.
Lee put the Astros on the board with a leadoff blast to left in the second, but the Brewers tacked on two more runs in the third.
Braun and Fielder began the inning with singles to put runners on the corners, and Betancourt's one-out double down the left field line got one run home.
The fair ball call by third base umpire Lance Barksdale prompted Houston manager Brad Mills to come out of the dugout to argue, but the call stood.
Fielder then scored when Felipe Lopez grounded to first and Lee came home with the throw. He was called safe, which resulted in another on-field appearance from Mills, who this time heatedly argued with home plate umpire Gary Cederstrom. But Mills wasn't tossed, and returned to the dugout with Milwaukee holding a 5-1 edge.
Martinez pulled the Astros within a run in the bottom half.
With two on and two out, Narveson left a low offspeed pitch over the plate and Martinez hammered it over the left field wall. It was the rookie's second homer since making his debut at the end of July, and had Houston within 5-4.
But Fielder helped Milwaukee plate the decisive run in the sixth. After Braun reached on an error by Barmes, he sliced a double to left.
Lucroy's solo shot off Wesley Wright in the ninth pushed the Brewers' lead to three, and John Axford came out of the bullpen to close the game in the home half.
It was far from a routine save. Barmes homered off Axford with one out, and J.B. Shuck hit a ball off Axford's foot with two down. Axford scrambled to field the ball and threw it into foul territory beyond first base, allowing Shuck to advance into scoring position and bring up the potentially tying run.
But Shuck, who was playing in his second career game, was ambitious and tried to take third. Morgan made a strong throw from right field and third baseman Casey McGehee applied the tag, ending the game.
"To tell you the truth, when he picked up the ball and threw it, I didn't think we had a chance to get him," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "When we over-threw it and I looked to see where the guys were, I thought 'We don't have a chance to get him at third.'"
