MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Tony Clark and Nelson Cruz led the Detroit Tigers to the kind of victory that can change a team's season.

Clark hit a two-run single in the 15th inning to give the Tigers a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday night.

Clark provided the final runs, but Cruz (2-0) was the driving force behind the victory. He struck out seven batters in four shutout innings of relief.

"I knew the game was going to be close and going to be long, so I just wanted to keep us in it," Cruz said. "I felt great. I could have pitched longer."

In the Tigers' jubilant clubhouse, Cruz wore a heavy wrap on his arm and a big smile as his teammates lined up to congratulate him. Detroit, which won for the sixth time on its current nine-game road trip, could take a large measure of momentum from such a hard-fought victory, manager Phil Garner said.

"We battled through some tough breaks when it looked like we could have given in to the elements," Garner said. "This was the kind of game that got away from us in the past."

In a game that stretched into Sunday -- it was more than 5 hours and 20 minutes -- Brewers hitters struck out a franchise-record 20 times, including nine times in extra innings.

In the 15th, Valerio De Los Santos (1-3) walked Brad Ausmus and allowed an infield single by Bobby Higginson. After a double steal, Clark singled to right for his only hit in seven at-bats.

Cruz struck out six straight in the 12th and 13th innings before finishing off Milwaukee in the 15th.

"He was nasty," Garner said with a smile.

Still, Milwaukee may have been robbed of a run in the 15th when third-base umpire Rich Rieker called Geoff Jenkins' long drive foul. Television replays appeared to show the hit was fair.

"I clearly saw it. It was fair, no doubt about it," Jenkins said.

Milwaukee nearly ended it in the 11th when Dave Mlicki allowed a two-out single to Luis Lopez and walked pinch-hitter Charlie Hayes. Ron Belliard then singled to left, but Higginson threw out Lopez at the plate for his 10th outfield assist.

The rest of the extra innings were quiet, with Brewers hitters going down with alarming frequency. Ten of Milwaukee's 20 strikeouts were looking.

The Brewers led 2-1 entering the ninth, but closer Bob Wickman blew his fourth save of the year on a walk and two hits.

Rich Becker, who scored Detroit's first run with a pinch-hit homer in the eighth, hit a looping single to left with two outs, bringing home Damion Easley with the tying run. Only Belliard's running stab of pinch-hitter Jose Macias' liner prevented the Tigers from moving ahead.

It was the third blown save and fourth poor outing in 10 days for Wickman, who saved the Brewers' previous two victories, but allowed four runs in one inning of a loss Tuesday. His wild inconsistency didn't discourage NL manager Bobby Cox from making him the Brewers' All-Star representative, however.

Wickman wasted an exceptional performance by John Snyder, who held the Tigers to four hits over 7 2/3 innings in his most impressive outing with the Brewers. Snyder gave up a third-inning double to Luis Polonia, but then retired 12 of his next 13 hitters before Easley's two-out single in the seventh.

"John pitched a great game," Milwaukee manager Davey Lopes said. "We were in position to win the game, and we didn't. We had opportunities many, many times."

Becker homered to center with one out in the eighth. Jeromy Burnitz, who drove in three runs Friday night, drove in Milwaukee's first run with a third-inning double, and Jenkins' sacrifice fly scored Tyler Houston in the fifth.

Snyder allowed just two walks and barely missed taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Polonia's double fell into center field only because Marquis Grissom was playing exceptionally deep. Grissom dove to make the catch, but the ball bounced six inches from his glove.

In the seventh, Easley and Juan Encarnacion singled for Detroit. Snyder then threw a wild pitch to Deivi Cruz, but catcher Raul Casanova recovered the ball and tossed it to Snyder, who tagged out Easley as he slid home.

Snyder also had his first two major league hits, both against Hideo Nomo, who pitched well in his return to County Stadium but got no run support.

Nomo, who resurrected his career by going 12-8 with the Brewers last season, allowed two runs and nine hits over six innings. He struck out seven with a sharp curveball.

Game notes
Detroit used eight pitchers. Todd Jones, the Tigers' only All-Star, struck out four straight Brewers in 1 2/3 innings of work in the ninth and 10th innings. ... Juan Acevedo threw two perfect innings of relief for the Brewers. ... Juan Gonzalez missed his second straight game and seventh in the Tigers' last 12 with tendinitis in his left ankle. Gonzalez might be put on the disabled list if his ankle doesn't improve during the All-Star break.