Branyan's two two-run homers lifts Brewers MILWAUKEE -- Wondering how to spell Branyan? Need directions to the auxiliary ticket office in left field? Just follow the soaring baseballs. Russell Branyan crushed a pair of monstrous two-run home runs and powered Doug Davis and the Brewers to a 6-2 win over the Pirates in front of 42,458 on Opening Day at Miller Park. "I can't explain any better moment in the game than making contact like that and seeing the ball fly," Branyan said. Those in the sellout crowd, including new owner Mark Attanasio, probably felt the same way. Branyan put a charge into the festivities in the second inning when he crushed a Kip Wells (0-2) pitch 465 feet off the center-field scoreboard -- just a few feet below his name in the lineup -- for a 2-0 Brewers lead. After the Pirates tied it with two runs in the fourth, Branyan cracked a 399-foot, two run homer in the bottom of the inning. It was the 10th multi-home run game of Branyan's career and the first by a Brewer this season. For the record, it earned Branyan the first curtain call of the season. "That's a first for me in my career," said Branyan, who is 5-for-6 in his last 10 plate appearances against Wells with four walks. "It was a very lifting moment, the big roar of the crowd. There's a lot of satisfaction there." Brady Clark also homered with a solo shot, and made Davis (2-0) a winner. Davis allowed two runs in seven innings of his second start against Wells and the Pirates in five days. This time, he struck out seven and walked four. The left-hander, as usual, had to wiggle out of trouble. Davis faced base runners in all seven of his innings but was only scored upon once. He walked Craig Wilson leading off the fourth and Tike Redman followed with an RBI triple. Ty Wigginton then tied the game at 2 when he blooped a run-scoring single. "It's not every day you get to have the opener and have 45,000 fans out there screaming," Davis said. "I had the adrenaline going. I had to walk around the mound a couple of times and take some deep breaths to calm myself down." In his last outing on April 6 at PNC Park, Davis worked the outside corner and relied on a good change-up. On Monday, that opened up the inside part of the plate against Pirates hitters, and Davis turned to his cut fastball for outs when he needed them. Branyan's blasts certainly helped. The first one gave Milwaukee a 2-0 lead. The second made it 4-2. And the home run distances were not just estimates. Before Miller Park opened in 2001, engineering students from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee surveyed the ballpark and compiled a binder with home run distances to all points. Last season, Branyan crushed a Greg Maddux pitch 485 feet to right field, a drive that still stands as the longest in ballpark history. "It's definitely a 'wow' kind of a thing," said Wells, who was caught mouthing as much by television crews. "Daaang, you for real?" said Pirates left-hander and Tuesday starter Mark Redman when he heard the homer went 465 feet. "I lost track of it halfway up the scoreboard but I didn't know it went that far." Davis knows the feeling. He once surrendered a long home run to Barry Bonds in San Francisco that sailed over the wall and into McCovey Cove. "I remember the boats coming in, and the ball going over their head," Davis said. That is what the Brewers expect to get from Branyan, who has prolific power to go with sometimes alarming strikeout numbers. He won the starting third base job with a solid spring during which he shortened his swing and put more balls in play. Jeff Cirillo moved ahead of Wes Helms on the depth chart and will probably start Tuesday's game against Redman. That means Branyan will go to the bench. Still, he figures to get 400-500 or more at-bats this season. "This is the first opportunity I've had to win a job," the former Indians and Reds prospect said. "There's a lot at stake, especially when you're trying to make adjustments to your approach at the plate. But I'm a more mature player now. I'm older. I feel solid in the field, defensively, and at the plate I feel like I'm becoming a better player." The crowd provided another special moment of its own in the eighth inning. After second baseman Bobby Hill botched an easy pop-up, allowing Carlos Lee to score the Brewers' sixth run, Cirillo drew a long standing ovation. He is the franchise's all-time leader with a .307 batting average, and returned about a five-year hiatus earning the Major League minimum. "It was just a magical day," said Cirillo, who homered on Opening Day in Pittsburgh. "It's something that you don't take for granted. I wish everyone could experience something like that. ...It was meant to happen. [Hill] probably won't drop another pop-up all year." That crowd stayed up through Cirillo's plate appearance, which ended in a walk. Brady Clark then flew out to end the inning. --

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