Loss means Brewers have to win out to make playoffs

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CINCINNATI - The Milwaukee Brewers are still in the National League playoff chase, but just barely. The Brewers dropped to third place in the standings for the final NL Wild Card, after they blew a ninth-inning lead at Cincinnati yesterday and lost 2-1.

Milwaukee is now a game behind the LA Dodgers and four behind Saint Louis for the Wild Card spot. The Dodgers moved back into second last night with an 8-4 win at San Diego, while the Cardinals were off.

The Brewers have six regular season home contests left against Houston and San Diego – and Milwaukee would have to win all of them, while the Cardinals go 2-and-4 against Washington and Cincinnati. But it was only a year ago when Atlanta blew a three-game lead for a Wild Card in its final five games. Brewers’ center-fielder Carlos Gomez says you never know what’s going to happen and quote, “We have to continue to play.”

Milwaukee dropped to .500 with its ninth inning collapse yesterday. A Gomez homer put the Crew up 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth when Cincinnati scored twice to win it. Todd Frazier tied it with a solo homer, and Dioner Navarro won it with an RBI-triple. John Axford ended a string of 15 straight save conversions with his ninth blown save, the most in the Majors. And he took the loss to fall to 5-8. Jonathan Broxton got the win in relief, and he’s 3-1.

The Brewers open a home series against the Houston Astros tonight. Right-hander Yovani Gallardo will start against Astros’ right-hander Edgar Gonzalez.

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Brewers’ right fielder Norichika Aoki leads the Majors with 17 extra-base hits this month – and he’s just one short of a team record. George Scott had 18 extra-base hits in September of 1974, and Corey Hart equaled that mark in 2007. Aoki is one of the smallest players on the Brewers. But he has a decent slugging percentage of .436 for the year, to go with 10 homers, 36 doubles, and four triples. Through a translator, Aoki said he’s happy about being one of the Majors’ top sluggers in September. He says he’s putting a better swing on his pitches compared to earlier in the year. Manager Ron Roenicke said Aoki’s numbers surprise him, because of his reputation in Japan for a high batting average instead of power. Aoki drives the ball to all fields, so opponents have to play-it-straight in defending him. Roenicke says Aoki generally “hits to the situation,” and he has enough bat control to do a variety of things at the plate.

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