Brewers continue to gain ground in the Wild Card race

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MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Brewers have moved past Pittsburgh in the National League Wild Card race. The Brewers blanked the New York Mets 3-0 yesterday at Miller Park. And that moved Milwaukee into third place for the second-and-final NL Wild Card now held by Saint Louis.

The Dodgers are a game back, after falling at home to the Cards 5-2 in 12 innings yesterday. The Brewers are now two-and-a-half back. And Pittsburgh dropped to fourth place, a half-game behind Milwaukee after the Pirates lost to the Cubs in Chicago 13-9. In the Brewers’ victory, Ryan Braun hit two solo homers. The first was the 200th of his career. And the second homer was his 40th of the season, the first time Braun ever reached that plateau. Aramis Ramirez hit a solo homer on his Bobblehead Day for Milwaukee’s other run. He and Braun hit back-to-back shots in the fourth inning. Wily Peralta had the best start of his brief career, giving up just two hits in eight shutout innings with five strikeouts and a walk. He’s now 2-0. John Axford pitched the ninth for his 29th save. Brewer pitchers set a new team for season strikeouts with 1,259. Peralta broke the mark by fanning Lucas Duda in the second inning. Peralta also got his first Major League hit, a double. Chris Young took the loss for New York. He’s now 4-8, after giving up all three Milwaukee homers. The Brewers have now won 20-of-their-last-26. They’re off today, and will open a series at Pittsburgh tomorrow night.

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Brewers’ first baseman Corey Hart might not do anything more than pinch-hit for the rest of the season. Hart had more pain than expected yesterday, when he ran the bases for the first time since he partially tore a plantar fascia in his left foot eight days ago. He said he ran straight lines okay, but it hurt to make turns on the bases. Had his running session gone well, Hart could have returned to his first base spot tomorrow night at Pittsburgh. Manager Ron Roenicke says it’s still possible he could play. It depends on whether the medical staff decides to give Hart an injection in the foot, which may or may not solve the problem. Roenicke says he expects to know more about Hart’s fate in the next couple days. In the meantime, Travis Ishikawa is filling in for Hart at first.

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