PHOENIX -- The Brewers' most pleasant spring surprise ponders for a moment when asked whether he's had a run like this. In three weeks of Cactus League games, Yadiel Rivera, a shortstop who is vying for a bench job on the strength of his slick glove, has hit three ninth-inning, lead-changing home runs, and he's tied for the team lead in RBIs (nine).
Rivera recalled a two-day span in June 2012 when he delivered consecutive walk-off hits for the Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. He hit a three-run home run one day and an RBI single the next.