Opponents for a day, Crew prospects excel

MIAMI -- Lewis Brinson's mother, Susie, drove about 45 minutes to see her son play on Sunday. She's seen him play before -- every Mother's Day since he was drafted, for starters. Mauricio Dubón, Brinson's Triple-A teammate, asked his mother to make a longer, rarer trip to Marlins Park on Sunday.
Family made the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game special for both Brewers prospects. Brinson played the role of hometown hero, hitting a double and scoring a run in the U.S. Team's 7-6 win, while Dubon's mother, Jeannette, flew in from their native Honduras to see her son play for the first time in his professional career.
"I know it's not a big league game, but it's in a big league stadium, big stage and everything, and I'm at home," Brinson said. "That's awesome [Dubon's mother] got to come from Honduras. That's awesome."
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Brinson, the Brewers' top prospect, went 1-for-4 in front of a crowd of at least 30 family members and friends. He played the entire game, starting in center field before switching to left to make room for Corey Ray, Milwaukee's No. 2 prospect.
Brinson was one of the few starters to play all nine innings, the result of a pregame rock-paper-scissors battle with Astros prospect Derek Fisher. Brinson lost two out of three -- rock over scissors, paper over rock -- and his "loss" led to an unforgettable opportunity in front of his hometown crowd.
"It was a reward. It was awesome," Brinson said. "I got to play nine in front of my family. I wish I could've got a couple more hits, but we came out with the win. We had fun. I had fun. They had fun. It's all good."
Dubon could say the same. There has only been one Major League player born in Honduras: outfielder Gerald Young, who played for the Astros, Rockies and Cardinals from 1987-94. Dubon on Sunday became the first Honduras-born player to participate in the Futures Game.

"I take a lot of pride in that," Dubon said. "I would love to be the first one but hopefully not the last one."
Jeannette had never seen her son play a game in person since he was drafted by the Red Sox in 2013, he said. As soon as he learned he was named to the World Team's Futures Game roster, he called his mother.
"You've got to come," he told her. "This is one big moment for our country and for me, so you've got to come."
Dubon entered the game to play second base in the fifth inning and doubled in the sixth. When he got to second base, the first place he looked was his personal cheering section in the second deck on the third-base side: more than 20 people, including his mother, some from Honduras and others from Miami. Standing in front of his locker after the game, Dubon said he received a flood of text messages from people watching the game.
"Hopefully they can see this is not impossible. They can see this is something that is reachable," he said. "If you work hard, you can achieve it. It's something I'm never going to forget."
Dubon might have had another hit in the seventh inning, but he scorched a line drive directly at Brinson. Dubon stopped and laughed at first base, and Brinson grinned as he ran in from left field.
"We told each other we were going to dive for everything," Brinson said.
"He said, 'Hit it harder,'" Dubon added, smiling.