Pirates edge Brewers 9-8 but Brew Crew still has home field advantage

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MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Brewers lost a slug-fest to Pittsburgh, 9-8 at Miller Park last night. But Arizona also lost, which means the Brewers still have a one-game lead for home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Also, Atlanta still has a one-game edge over Saint Louis for the National League Wild Card, after both those teams were defeated last night. Whoever gets the Wild Card will determine who the Brewers will play in their National League Division Series which begins on Saturday night.

Alex Presley was the hitting hero for the Pirates last night. He broke an 8-8 tie in the seventh inning with a double that drove in the deciding run.

Presley also led off the game with a homer, and he ended up with three hits and three RBI’s. The Brewers had fought back from a 4-1 deficit to tie the game with three runs in the sixth. They also had a runner reach third in the ninth inning, thanks to two wild pitches by Pirates’ closer Joel Hanrahan. But he worked out of the jam to get his 40th save. Daniel McCutcheon got the win in relief. He’s 5-3. Takashi Saito took the loss in relief. He’s 4-2. Yuniesky Betancourt had two hits, a walk, and four RBI’s for Milwaukee, which ended a 12-game winning streak over the Pirates at Miller Park. Pirates’ center fielder Andrew McCutcheon didn’t play, after he was hit in the lower abdomen by a ball during batting practice.

The Brewers have still won 9-of-their-last-13 overall. And they can still clinch home-field in the Division Series with victories in the final two games over the Pirates. Game-Two of the Pittsburgh series is tonight. Left-hander Randy Wolf will face Pirates’ right-hander Ross Ohlendorf.

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Ryan Braun still leads the National League batting race, but by only three-hundredths of a point over Jose Reyes of the Mets. Braun is at .333962 with two games left – and Reyes is at .333932. Braun was supposed to get a rest last night against Pittsburgh. But he entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning and had an RBI double. Braun then finished the contest. Manager Ron Roenicke said his decision to play-or-sit Braun would not hinge on Braun’s chances to win the batting title. Roenicke said it was not a factor to Braun, so it wouldn’t be a factor to him.

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