Heath Bell: "Let's roll with the heat" ...

Pretty wild ninth inning Wednesday, with Heath Bell getting two quick outs and then allowing a double  single to Prince Fielder and eventually stranding the tying run on third base. Here's a look at Bell's at-bat against Mike Cameron to end the game.


MILWAUKEE -- No matter what happened Wednesday, Heath Bell was going to stick to one plan, one approach and one completely linear way of thinking.

And, as it turned out, one pitch as well.

"Let's roll with the hard stuff," Bell said.

Facing Milwaukee's Mike Cameron with two outs in the ninth inning and the tying run at third base, Bell, the Padres' All-Star closer, thought back to a similar situation against the same hitter just 12 days ago.

But instead of feeding Cameron a few benders, the high-risk, high-reward curveball, Bell opted to go in a different direction, which is why the Padres were able to hang on for a 6-5 victory over the Brewers before a crowd of 38,753 at Miller Park.

Whereas on Aug. 1, when Bell bounced back from a 3-1 deficit in the count with two big curveballs to strike out Cameron in a 4-2 victory, Bell opted to rely more on pure heat on Wednesday, feeding Cameron eight consecutive fastballs.

The last one ended up in the glove of third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, a towering pop out that allowed the Padres to win for the 11th time in their past 15 games as Bell pumped his fist into his glove, savoring his 29th save of the season.

"Last week, I threw him a lot of benders [curveballs] and I think that he was looking at it, 'Where's that bender?' I think he was looking for a curveball," Bell said. "That's why I went all hard stuff."

Bell locked down the save after allowing a two-out double to Prince Fielder earlier in the inning. Rookie Alcides Escobar then pinch-run for Fielder, stole second base and moved to third when catcher Nick Hundley's throw ended up in center field.

"That put a little stress on us," Padres manager Bud Black said.

But nothing Bell couldn't get out of, though the biggest save of the night for the Padres (49-66) might have come from their offense, which turned a 3-2 deficit into 6-2 lead in the seventh inning with four runs.

-- Corey Brock, MLB.com