Night to Remember for Brown

Brant Brown’s memories of his most recent trip to Tiger Stadium will certainly be happier than his first.

Brown went five for five, including a home run over the right-field roof, and had five runs batted in Wednesday night in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 15-3 rout of the Detroit Tigers.

Brown’s big night came almost a year since he suffered a broken collarbone trying to make a diving catch while playing center field for the Chicago Cubs against the Tigers on June 25.

Brian Giles, Jose Guillen and Ed Sprague also homered for the Pirates, who matched a season high with 17 hits and scored at least once in every inning except the ninth.

Brown was batting only .164 in his last 30 games before matching his career highs in hits and RBIs. His only other homer this season was an inside-the-park dash May 9 at St. Louis.

“I think this is one of the few times this season I’ve been in the zone,” Brown said. “As a hitter you have your ups and downs. You just try to get in a good groove and stay there as long as you can.”

Brown’s solo homer against reliever Willie Blair cleared the roof on the fly to give the Pirates a 9-2 lead in the fifth. It was the second home run hit completely out of the ballpark this season and the 35th since Tiger Stadium assumed its present configuration in 1938.

“I don’t really consider Brant a power hitter, but he hit that ball good,” Pirate Manager Gene Lamont said.