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PITTSBURGH -- Ryan Braun already was being booed loudly and that was before he hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning. Braun hit two homers, including a two-run shot with two outs in the ninth inning that sent the Milwaukee Brewers over the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7 Saturday night. Braun has five home runs this season after being suspended for the last 65 games of 2013 following Major League Baseballs investigation into the Biogenesis drug scandal. The other three homers came in one game on April 8 at Philadelphia as did seven of his 13 RBIs. Because he has been so prominently associated with performance-enhancing drugs, Braun is jeered wherever. That was the case when he stepped to the plate in the ninth inning and hit the go-ahead drive to centre field off Pirates closer Jason Grilli (0-1), his second blown save in six opportunities. Jean Seguras two-out single kept the inning going for Braun, who had three hits and three RBIs. "The booing is just part of the territory and I take it as a challenge instead of personally," Braun said. "If I make an out, its going to make them (cheer) but if I get a hit then its going to give me a good feeling. Id rather feel good." Braun and the Brewers were feeling good after raising their record to a league-best 13-5, including 5-1 against the Pirates. "Grillis a tough matchup for anybody and Braunie just crushed that ball," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "That was impressive." Grilli wasnt very impressed by himself for giving up Seguras hit on an 0-2 count. "You cant give up a hit in that situation. You either put him away or waste a pitch," Grilli said. "That bothers me more than the home run." Jonathan Lucroy hit three doubles and drove in two runs for the Brewers. Mark Reynolds hit his fourth homer. Ike Davis doubled, singled and walked in his first game for the Pirates. The first baseman was acquired from the New York Mets in a trade Friday night. Jim Henderson (2-0) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win and Francisco Rodriguez finished for his sixth save in as many opportunities. Braun got the Brewers within a run at 7-6 when he hit a solo homer in the seventh off Tony Watson. Neither starter pitched well. Milwaukees Matt Garza allowed five earned runs in five innings, Wandy Rodriguez gave up four runs in four innings. Clint Barmes and pinch hitter Travis Snider hit consecutive two-run singles to cap a five-run fourth inning that put the Pirates ahead 6-4. Lucroy had an RBI grounder in the fifth to make it a one-run game. Andrew McCutchen made it 7-5 with an RBI double in the Pirates sixth but Braun rallied the Brewers to victory. "Its a game we probably shouldnt have won but good teams find a way to win a game like this and I think were proving to everyone that weve got a pretty good team," Braun said. NOTES: The Pirates designated 1B Travis Ishikawa for assignment to clear a roster spot for the addition of Davis, activated C Chris Stewart from the disabled list and optioned C Tony Sanchez to Triple-A Indianapolis. . Pittsburgh SS Jordy Mercer did not play because of a sore left ankle. He was injured Friday night when Milwaukee C Martin Maldonado slid into him at second base while trying to break up a double play. INF Clint Barmes started in Mercers place. . Brewers 1B Lyle Overbays three-day paternity leave ends Sunday and he will return to the team for the finale of the four-game series. Milwaukee is likely to place OF Logan Schafer, who has a strained right hamstring, on the 15-day disabled list in order to open a roster spot for Overbay. . Brewers RHP Marco Estrada (1-1, 3.06) will face Pirates RHP Gerrit Cole (2-1, 4.74) on Sunday. Estrada is 5-0 in his career against the Pirates with a 2.06 ERA in 11 games, including eight starts.724-312-9796 Hydro Flask Clearance Online . On paper, it looks a little like Andre the Giant taking on a midget wrestler. It has all the makings of a rout with the Americans adding an eighth win in nine outings of this biennial event. The Yanks have eight players in the top 15 in the world while the Internationals have just one. Hydro Flask Sale Ombre . -- David Ortiz saved his only hit for a key moment for the Boston Red Sox. http://www.clearancehydroflask.com/.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes used a strong third period to extend their winning streak to three games. Clearance Hydro Flask . With Washington teammate Nene drawing double-teams coming off his big game against the Lakers, Gortat scored 25 points on 11-of-12 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Wizards to a 100-92 win in overtime over Milwaukee on Wednesday night. Hydro Flask Online Sale . According to a report from the Vancouver Province, the Lions are expected to replace former DC Rich Stubler with defensive backs coach Mark Washington.The Ducks’ dynamic duo, Montreal’s Max Power, Braden Holtby, Devan Dubnyk, Fantasy tips and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES Getzlaf & Perry – Ducks right winger Corey Perry tallied his third hat-trick of the season, leading Anaheim to a 4-0 win over Toronto. Perry has 18 goals in 29 games, the second-best goals-per-game rate in the league. Among players with at least 20 games played: GOALS-PER-GAME LEADERS PLAYER TEAM POS. GP G G/GP Rick Nash N.Y. Rangers LW 40 26 0.65 Corey Perry Anaheim RW 29 18 0.62 Tyler Seguin Dallas C/RW 42 26 0.62 Vladimir Tarasenko St. Louis RW 43 24 0.56 Steven Stamkos Tampa Bay C 45 25 0.56 Alex Ovechkin Washington LW 43 22 0.51 Joe Pavelski San Jose C/RW 44 22 0.50 Marian Gaborik Los Angeles LW 31 15 0.48 Max Pacioretty Montreal LW 42 20 0.48 Patrick Kane Chicago RW 43 20 0.47 As for Ryan Getzlaf, he contributed a pair of assists, moving into a tie for fifth in the league with 47 points. Getzlaf, with wingers Perry and Patrick Maroon, also had better than 75% of even-strength shot attempts (with 50% offensive zone starts) when they were on the ice against Toronto; a dominant performance. Max Pacioretty – The Habs left winger buried a pair of third-period power-play goals and had 10 shot attempts (7 SOG), leading Montreal to a 3-2 win at Columbus. In the past five games, Pacioretty has six goals and an assist, and is one of the league’s premier goal-scorers over the past four seasons. Braden Holtby – Washington’s goaltender recorded a 21-save shutout in a 1-0 win against Philadelphia, making his 20th consecutive start for the Capitals. His .924 save percentage this season ranks fifth among goaltenders with at least 25 games played. ZEROES Jonathan Quick – Was pulled after allowing two goals on seven shots, playing 10:40 in relief, in a 5-3 loss to New Jersey. Since December 11, Quick has an .868 save percentage, worst among goaltenders to play at least 300 minutes. Goloubef & Tyutin – The Blue Jackets’ defence pairing was crushed in puck possession against Montreal, as Cody Goloubef (2 shot attempts for, 18 against, 10.0%) and Fedor Tyutin (4 for, 19 against, 17.4%) could not escape the defensive zone. DUBNYK DEAL Devan Dubnyk – The 28-year-old fell off the beam last season. In the previous three seasons, he was an entirely respectable, above-average, NHL goaltender, then washed out in Edmonton, barely got a sniff in Nashville and went home without ever getting into a game for Montreal. But, a goaltender with Dubnyk’s pedigree was a worthwhile candidate to bounce back this year and Dubnyk has posted a .916 save percentage in 19 games for the Coyotes. That’s good enough to get a look as the starter in Minnesota right now, and if Dubnyk plays well, it will be a chance to cash in since his one-year, $800,000 contract expires at season’s end. Niklas Backstrom – The 36-year-old veteran has run into injury problems the past couple of seasons, but he’s struggled even when he has been in the lineup. There have been 54 goaltenders to play in at least 30 games since the start of last season and only two – Anders Lindback and Reto Berra – have a save percentage worse than Backstrom’s .894 over the past two seasons. Darcy Kuemper – 24-year-old Darcy Kuemper came into the season with a .915 save percentage in 32 career games, a small sample, but enough to think that he could be a viable option once Josh Harding was sidelined. Hoowever, Kuemper has struggled and, combined with Backstrom’s ineffectiveness, goaltending has been at the root of Minnesota’s problems.dddddddddddd Minnesota’s goaltenders have combined for an .896 even-strength save percentage, worst in the league. Josh Harding – The 30-year-old with MS was an outstanding story last season, posting a .933 save percentage in 29 games with the Wild before health issues interrupted his season. Then, he broke a foot kicking a wall before this season started and it’s been a battle to get into the lineup. Once he recovered from the broken foot, Harding played a couple of AHL games, then was dehydrated and hasn’t played since. If Harding was a viable option, the Wild wouldn’t have been so desperate to make a trade. The third-round pick that the Wild received in return for Dubnyk typically offers a little under 30% chance of yielding an NHL player, with 6.7% qualifying as a top-six forward or top-four defenceman. LINEUP NEED TO KNOW Matt Beleskey – Despite leading the Ducks in goals (going into last night), Beleskey was a healty scratch against Toronto. Speculation is that Beleskey’s defensive play is the issue after he was minus-2 in back-to-back games. To that, I submit the Ducks’ shot attempts against, which show Beleskey has not been allowing a lot against this season. Jaromir Jagr – The Devils’ leading scorer, with a modest 25 points (9 G, 16 A) in 43 games, Jagr is out with the flu. Scott Laughton – The Flyers’ rookie forward was knocked out of the game by Washington defenceman Matt Niskanen. There hasn’t been an update from the Flyers on Laughton’s status, but it wouldn’t come as a surprise if Laughton had a concussion. Leo Komarov – The Maple Leafs’ winger was injured in Los Angeles, then held out against Anaheim, allowing Sam Carrick an opportunity to get into the lineup. SHORT SHIFTS Devils C Scott Gomez recorded a pair of assists in a 5-3 win at Los Angeles; he has seven points (2 G, 5 A) in the past six games…Devils RW Steve Bernier scored a pair of goals and played 15:38 in New Jersey’s win at Los Angeles; Bernier, usually a fourth-liner, has played more than 13 minutes in a game six times this season – four times in the past six games…Devils D Mark Fraser fought Kings RW Jordan Nolan early in the first period; it was Fraser’s third fight in four games since getting called up to the Devils…Kings RW Justin Williams had a goal and an assist in the loss to New Jersey, and has six points (5 G, 1 A) in the past six games...Flyers G Rob Zepp stopped 25 of 26 shots in a 1-0 loss at Washington…Ducks G Frederik Andersen made 28 saves in a 4-0 shutout win against Toronto. FANTASY FOCUS There are 10 games on the schedule tonight, so here are some options that you may want to get into your lineup: Mike Hoffman – The speedy Sens rookie is getting more ice time, over 18 minutes in two of his past four games, and has eight points (7 G, 1 A) in his past 11 games. J.T. Miller – With Derek Stepan out, look for Miller, who has four assists in the past five games and played a season-high 16:37 last game, to get more ice time. Derek Roy – Getting an opportunity to play in a second-line role, Roy has seven points (2 G, 5 A) in eight games since arriving in Edmonton. Michael Frolik – The Jets’ supporting cast is pulling its weight and Frolik has contributed five assists in the past five games. He’s also played more than 18 minutes in 13 of the past 18 games. Phil Kessel – He has two points in the past six games, and two goals in the past 13, so he’s due. He’s also continuing to generate shots (19 in the past four games) and if the shots are coming, then goals will follow. Much of the data included comes from www.war-on-ice.com, www.puckalytics.com, www.hockeystats.ca and www.naturalstattrick.com Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca ' ' '