Feeling 'Royal'

The Brewers are calling up Prince Fielder to serve as DH against the Devils Rays and Blue Jays this week.

Brewers general manager Doug Melvin confirmed this afternoon that Fielder, 21, would come up strictly to serve as the DH in three-game series at Tampa Bay and Toronto. Melvin said Fielder then would be returned to Class AAA Nashville.

"We figured the way we’re hitting, we’ll see if he can jump-start the offense a little bit," said Melvin. "We talked about this a couple of weeks ago.

"We’ve got some guys banged up right now, so we’re a little thin. And with the offense struggling, we’re looking for an offensive boost."

While the move smacks of desperation somewhat, the Brewers might be catching Fielder at the right time. The powerful first baseman has been on a home run binge of late, socking two more out of the park Sunday in Nashville’s 7-1 victory over Iowa.

Fielder, a first-round draft pick in 2002, was batting .253 with 15 home runs and 47 runs batted in for the Sounds. He had a .507 slugging percentage, with 37 walks and 57 strikeouts.

The Brewers’ options to serve as a DH in the American League parks were limited because of recent injuries to third baseman Jeff Cirillo (sprained wrist) and catcher Damian Miller (strained groin). Slugger Russell Branyan is on the disabled list with a broken finger, eliminating another possible option.

Go get 'em kid.