AGONIZING

SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012       PAGE A1

BRADEN NEARLY PERFECT
EX-TEAMMATE GIVES UP TWO-OUT HIT

BY PAT DORWIN

SPORTSWRITER

CHICAGO DAILY SUN

CHICAGO - FORMER WHITESOX HURLER DALLAS BRADEN RETURNED TO HIS ROOTS   DAY NIGHT -AND  YEARS OF PROMISE CAME TOGETHER IN ONE NEARLY PERFECT EVENING, A 1-0 MILWAUKEE WIN.

BRADEN, 2-6 FOR THE BREWERS COMING INTO THE GAME FRIDAY, WAS AN OUT AWAY FROM A PERFECT GAME BEFORE CHICAGO'S MICHAEL STANTON LASHED A DOUBLE TO RIGHT-CENTER.

"WELL, WE PUT IT (THE PITCH) WHERE WE WANTED IT," SAID BRADEN. "MICHAEL JUST BEAT ME, JUST RIPPED IT."

THE PITCH WAS OUTSIDE, WHERE BRADEN HAD BEEN LIVING ALL NIGHT, STRIKING OUT 20 OF THE 26 BATTERS HE FACED. BEN ZOBRIST, MATT HOLLIDAY, WILSON BETAMIT AND AARON LIND ALL STRUCK-OUT THREE TIMES.

A PERFECT ATMOSPHERE, CLEAR SKIES, 67-DEGREES AND A 7 MPH WIND BLOWING IN FROM CENTER, AIDED BRADEN AS WELL AS CHISOX STARTER MARK ROGERS AS NIETHER TEAM HAD A BASE KNOCK THROUGH THE FIRST SIX-PLUS INNINGS.

MILWAUKEE (36-36) GOT A SIXTH-INNING BLOOPER FROM AARON KIMURA FOR ITS FIRST HIT.

CHICAGO (34-37) LOST ITS 0-0 TIE IN THE 8TH WHEN STEPHEN DREW BANGED OUT A PINCH-HIT DOUBLE TO LEAD OFF THE INNING AMD MARK GRUDZIELANEK PROMPTY GROUND A SINGLE TO RIGHT TO PUSH MILWAUKEE AHEAD 1-0.

AFTER STANTON'S DOUBLE, CLOSER JONATHAN BRAXTON PROMPTLY STRUCK OUT ZOBRIST TO END THE GAME AND RECORD HIS 12TH SAVE.