Fielder blasts 2 HRs, then his father

MILWAUKEE -- There's no doubt who the prince of this city is.

It's Prince Fielder, and the Milwaukee first baseman hit 2 more home runs Tuesday night to bring the Brewers a game closer to catching the Cubs.

Fielder smacked a 2-run homer in the first inning and another 2-run shot in the seventh, his 50th of the season, to lead the Brewers past the St. Louis Cardinals 9-1 at Miller Park.

The Brewers trail the first-place Cubs by only 2 games in the National League Central with five to play after picking up a game-and-a-half in the last two days.

"It's actually more relaxing because, honestly, the pressure is not really on us, it's on the Cubs to keep their lead," Fielder said. "We're just trying to go out there and win every game. It seemed like when we were in first, we were more uptight."

The 23-year-old Fielder became the youngest player in major-league history to hit 50 homers. A 24-year-old Willie Mays had been the youngest in 1955.

After making history, Fielder took several shots at his estranged father, former big-league slugger Cecil Fielder. Asked if someone had retrieved the record 50th home run ball for him, Fielder said he didn't want it.

"The only one I want is 52," Fielder said. "If I get to 52, that's the one I want to keep."

Why?

"Because my dad hit 51," Fielder said, referring to his father's 51 homers for Detroit in 1990. "Then he can't say nothing."

Fielder rarely makes comments about his dad, but he brought him up again when talking about what it would mean to be the NL's Most Valuable Player.

"It would be a cool award to get," Fielder said. "It's something I think about, besides the fact my dad never did it, so that would be one more thing. If I do get it, it would shut him up again."

Asked if he was joking about his dad, Fielder said, "No, that's serious."

Fielder said he has nothing to prove to his dad, only himself.

"When I got drafted a lot of people said that's the only reason I got drafted and this and that," Fielder said. "That's what drives me. People said I was too big and all this, and the only reason I got drafted was because of my name.

"That's why I'm so passionate about playing. I don't mind them comparing me, but I'm a totally different player. Hopefully one day when they mention my name they won't have to mention him."

Fielder said he grew tired as a kid hearing his dad run him down.

"He always used to say jokes," Fielder said. "Like in high school if I was hitting good, he'd say, 'Yeah, have you ever hit 50 home runs?' Ever since I heard jokes like that I've tried to shut him up.

"You've got to look who's saying it. To be honest, he's not really the brightest guy."

When Tuesday's game started, the Cubs already were trailing the Marlins 4-0 on their way to a 4-2 loss.

A few minutes later, the Brewers had their own 3-0 lead as Cardinals starter Braden Looper surrendered a leadoff homer to Rickie Weeks, then Fielder's 2-run shot. Bill Hall's 3-run homer off Looper in the fifth sealed the deal.

The Brewers remain confident they can pull this off and reach the playoffs for the first time since 1982.

"Our goal is to win the division, and we're still very much focused on that," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "Do some things need to fall into place? Yeah, but you've got to continue to stay positive."

For the second straight night, the Cardinals didn't put up much of a fight in losing for the 16th time in 20 games.

"We've just got to keep plugging and control what we can control," Yost said.