In the past, Bill Hall probably wouldn't have gotten this kind of reception.

Coming to the plate with two outs and runners at the corners in the bottom of the 10th inning, a Miller Park sellout crowd of 43,032 greeted the veteran infielder with cheers.

Hall, who has been a lightning rod for fans' discontent in recent years, came through with a run-scoring single to right-center that lifted the Brewers to a 1-0 victory over the Cardinals.

To say he was due would be a massive understatement.

There's no way to sugar-coat it; Hall has been downright awful lately. Despite opening the season strong, he's struggling now, batting just .230 and having nearly no success against right-handed pitchers, who have held him to a .167 average this season.

Early in the season, Hall looked like he was finally regaining the form that helped him bat .298 with 52 home runs and 147 RBI in 2005-'06. In April, Hall was hitting at a .304 clip with eight doubles, three homers and a .377 on-base percentage.

Things went downhill quickly from there. Hall collected just seven hits in 53 at-bats in May (.132). He hit one homer,d rove in two run and his on-base percentage for the month is .193.  On the recent road trip, Hall had just one hit in 28 appearances and the game-winning hit Monday was his first hit since May 19 and just the third since a 2-for-3 effort against the Cubs on May 10.

"I've been trying to get myself back to how I felt when I was swinging the bat good," Hall said Monday. "Hopefully, things like that will help me turn the curve."

The franchise's top prospect, Mat Gamel, started the game at third base and Macha inserted Hall as a defensive upgrade late in the scoreless contest. Despite his recent futility, Hall said his confidence was high and growing as the game went on and it looked like he'd get a chance to play late.

"I had a good cage round in batting practice," Hall said. "In the fifth inning, Dale (Sveum, the hitting coach) threw me some balls in the batting cage and I just got more and more confident as the game went on. When they called my number, my confidence showed.

"Today I had the most confidence I've had in a really long time."

Hall admits that he can be his own biggest critic at times and that he'll press at the plate and focus on the negatives when things aren't going well. He also admits that his swing may need a bit of tinkering, but for the most part his problems have a lot to do with the mental aspect of the game.

"It's all about getting rid of negative thoughts as fast as possible," Hall said. "Obviously, I've got some things to work on with the swing, too, but if you're confident in yourself you have a chance to get a hit."

Whoops: Were it not for a lineup snafu in the ninth inning, Hall would never have had the opportunity to win the game.

Heading into the ninth, manager Ken Macha attempted to double-switch by sending in Hall as a defensive replacement for Gamel at third base and closer Trevor Hoffman to pitch for starter Yovani Gallardo. Hoffman was to take Gamel's place in the lineup, putting the pitcher in the sixth spot, with Hall taking the pitcher's traditional ninth spot, which would have been the second position due up in the ninth inning.

Macha's move backfired when the umpires ruled that they weren't informed of the move before Hoffman got to the mound. The double-switch was nullified and Macha was forced to burn another pinch-hitter, Jody Gerut, to hit for Hoffman in the bottom of the ninth.

Use wisely: Like many managers, Mach brought his closer in to pitch the ninth inning of a tie game. It was just the second time this season that Hoffman was used in a non-save situation.

For his career, Hoffman has a 2.57 ERA in 654 innings of work in save situations. Compare that to non-save situations, where his era goes up nearly a full run to 3.47 (346 IP). Last season, the splits were even more dramatic. Hoffman had a 3.45 ERA in 31.1 innings of work when the save was in play. In non-save situations, he had a 4.50 ERA in 14 innings.

The Cat is back: Prior to the Monday matinee, the Brewers purchased Frank Catalanotto's contract from Class AA Huntsville, where he went 3-for-12 with three RBI in three games with the Stars. He made his Brewers debut in the eighth inning Monday,

It was an exciting debut. With Mike Cameron on and one out, Catalanotto sent Cris Carpenter's 1-0 offering deep to left field, where it dropped just foul. Catalanotto then grounded to third base to end the inning.

Catalanotto hit .274 with two home runs and 21 RBI in a reserve role with the Texas Rangers last season, but was released on April 1 of this year. He'll join Gerut, acquired in a trade with San Diego last week, backing up the Brewers' outfielders. Both he and Gerut are left-handers.

"I know one thing, the guy can hit," Macha said. "He's a very good fastball hitter, and he uses the whole field. He gives you a great at-bat."

Catalanotto, a lifetime .292 hitter, has 83 home runs and 447 RBI in a 12-year career that has included stops in Detroit and Toronto. Released at the end of spring training, Catalanotto signed with Milwaukee on May 12 with the hopes of making it to the playoffs.

"I haven't made it to the postseason," Catalanotto said. "My number one priority was to pick a team that had a good chance to make it to the postseason."

Though general manager Doug Melvin coveted Catalanotto's bat, the veteran also will provide added depth at both corner outfield and infield spots. The 35-year old could also see some action at second base, though he hasn't played there since 2002.

To make room for Catalanotto on the roster, the Brewers shipped left-handed reliever R.J. Swindle to Class AAA Nashville.

Private party: Noticeably absent from the Brewers victory Monday was their traditional untucking-of-the jerseys. Also missing was a raucous celebration at home plate or even at first base.

Instead, Hall sprinted back into the dugout and up the clubhouse tunnel immediately after touching first place and the winning run crossed the plate. He insisted that the subdued on-field celebration had nothing to do with the Cardinals, who have frequently expressed their disapproval with the untucking tradition and other "antics" which they and their fans consider "disrespectful."

"I got the big hit, everybody just came into the clubhouse and we celebrated in here," Hall said. "(We were) just having fun with ourselves."

For the record, the Brewers have won 11 of their last 12 games against St. Louis.

Happy anniversary: Monday marked the second anniversary of Ryan Braun's big league debut. In his first game, Braun had an RBI double and a sac fly and hit his first home run the next night against the Padres' Doug Brocali. He's hit 78 more since then, the second-most in baseball history for a players' first two years in the majors.

Quick hits: Milwaukee's next five games will come against division opponents. The Brewers are 17-8 against N.L. Central teams this year.… Mike Cameron's home run Sunday night at Minnesota was the 250th of his career. He's just the 20th player ever to hit 250 home runs and steal 250 bases. … The Twins series was the first of the season in which a Brewers starter did not record a quality start. … Heading into Monday's game, Prince Fielder's 42 RBI are the second-most in the National League and the most ever by a Brewer through 44 games. … Three times this season, Todd Coffey has entered the game with the bases loaded. He's stranded all nine of those baserunners. … Opponents are hitting just .187 against reliever Mark DiFelice. … The Brewers are 2-0 in extra-inning games and 9-6 in one-run games. ... Commissioner Bud Selig attended the game.  He was with his wife, Sue, his daughter, Wendy Selig-Prieb, son-in-law Laurel Prieb and several others.  

Injury report: Right-hander David Riske is at the Brewers' spring training facility in Phoenix, where continues to rehab his sore right elbow. … Rickie Weeks had surgery on his left wrist last week and will miss the remainder of the season. ... Shortstop J.J. Hardy sat out Monday's game -- his third straight -- with a sore back. He could return Tuesday.

This week: The Brewers have a chance to build a lead in the Central Division this week. The Cardinals are at Miller Park for two more games -- tomorrow night and Wednesday afternoon -- before Cincinnati comes to town Friday to open a three-game series.

He said it: "I'm just happy I finally got a hit to right field." – Bill Hall, after his game-winning single Monday.

Attendance (through 20 home games): Total – 726,148; Average – 36,307; Sellouts – 9.

Odds and ends: Brewers record with the roof / panels open – 4-0; Roof open / panels closed – 0-0; Roof / panels closed – 8-6; In white uniforms – 10-4; Grey uniforms – 7-5; Blue uniforms – 9-8; Retro uniforms – 0-1.

N.L. Central standings (Monday late games not included): 1, Milwaukee, 27-18; 2, St. Louis, 26-19 (-1); 3, Cincinnati, 24-20 (-2.5); 4, Chicago, 21-21 (-4.5); 5, Pittsburgh, 20-24 (6.5); 6, Houston, 18-25 (-8)