WASHINGTON — First, Mike Cameron helped Milwaukee grab an early touchdown advantage. Once the Brewers coughed up the lead, Cameron was in the thick of restoring it.
Cameron homered and drove in three runs, Casey McGehee singled in the tie-breaking run in the sixth inning and Milwaukee recovered after blowing a seven-run lead in an 11-9 victory against the Washington Nationals on Saturday night.
"It was a big night. We won the game, and I got four hits," Cameron said. "It would have been (devastating) if we lost."
Cameron started the decisive rally with a one-out infield single off Jason Bergmann (2-2) and advanced when second baseman Ronnie Belliard threw wildly to first. After Prince Fielder was intentionally walked, McGehee blooped a single to left-center for a 9-8 lead.
"It's still a team sport. It's not like Prince can walk down the court and still score 40," Cameron added. "You have to maneuver and manufacture runs because that makes you dangerous."
Chris Narveson (1-0) worked 2 2-3 innings of scoreless relief for his first major league victory. He got the game ball and congratulations from Trevor Hoffman, who worked the ninth for his 27th save in 29 tries.
"You never know when it's going to come or if it's going to come," said Narveson, whose contract was purchased from Triple-A Nashville on Friday to replace disabled right-hander Jesus Colome.
Belliard hit a grand slam and Willie Harris added a pinch homer in the eighth for the Nationals, who have dropped five straight.
"I'm the eternal optimist. I'm just very happy our guys are competing like they are," Washington interim manager Jim Riggleman said. "They keep fighting, they keep coming back."
After the start of the game was delayed 1 hour, 21 minutes by rain, Milwaukee grabbed a 2-0 lead off Nationals starter John Lannan on Ryan Braun's two-run double to left.
The Brewers made it 7-0 in the second, chasing Lannan, who allowed seven runs on seven hits in 1 2-3 innings, the shortest outing of his career.
"It's not acceptable. ... I can't put my finger on it and I've got to battle through it," said Lannan, who has allowed 16 runs over 12 innings in his last three starts. "You just can't put that much pressure on your team."
Alcides Escobar led off with a double home on Felipe Lopez's liner to left before Cameron's towering two-run homer to left. Fielder drew a two-out walk and scored when center fielder Nyjer Morgan misplayed McGehee's double off the wall. Saul Rivera relieved and yielded a run-scoring single to Jason Bourgeois.
Washington scored twice in the second. Ryan Zimmerman drew a leadoff walk and went to third on a Belliard ground-rule double that kicked off and lodged under the center-field wall. Zimmerman scored when third baseman McGehee couldn't field Elijah Dukes' grounder and another run scored on Jorge Padilla's double play.
Cameron increased the lead to 8-2 with his third hit in as many innings, an RBI double.
Lopez and Cameron, batting one and two in the lineup, each went 4 for 6 and combined for five runs scored and five RBIs.
Riggleman was ejected in the third inning by home plate umpire Mike Reilly for arguing Reilly's swinging strike call when Zimmerman tried to hold up on a 2-2 pitch with the bases loaded. If Riggleman was trying to spark Washington, the strategy worked — Belliard hit Burns' next pitch into the left-field seats, cutting the lead to 8-6 with his third career slam.
Burns departed after three innings. He allowed six runs on five hits, walked two and struck out two.
Washington completed the comeback in the fourth. With one out, Wil Nieves singled off Mark DiFelice and Rivera walked before Narveson relieved and allowed Morgan's double to left. Alberto Gonzalez followed with a sacrifice fly for an 8-all tie.
After McGehee snapped the tie, Lopez drove in an insurance run with a seventh-inning double. Jason Kendall had an RBI double in the eighth.
NOTES: Rivera singled in the third for his first major league hit. ... Belliard's was Washington's sixth grand slam this season. ... Riggleman was ejected for the second time since replacing the fired Manny Acta on July 13. ... Fielder walked four times, matching a career high. With 82 free passes, Fielder is on pace to eclipse Jeromy Burnitz's club record of 99 in 2000. ... Washington has endured 20 games affected by delays this season. Stoppages in those games total 35 hours, 23 minutes.