ST. LOUIS (AP) — Milwaukee’s last NL MVP thinks he is about to get some company.Led by Christian Yelich’s silky smooth game
Kenley Jansen Jersey , the Brewers are closing in on the playoffs.Yelich homered and drove in a career-high six runs, and surging Milwaukee hurt St.
Louis’ postseason chances with a 12-4 victory over the Cardinals on
Tuesday.“Just trying to help the boys out any way you can,” Yelich said. “A lot
of guys came through in some big situations for us. That was a lot of fun
tonight.”Ryan Braun went deep twice and Jesus Aguilar also connected as
Milwaukee lowered its magic number for clinching a playoff spot to one. But the
Brewers are thinking bigger after their fifth win in six games put them just a
half-game back of the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs.“I think the division is
kind of what’s on our mind right now,” manager Craig Counsell said, “and I think
we’ve earned that with the last two days.”Milwaukee (91-67) leads Colorado by 3½
games for the top wild card. St. Louis (87-71) dropped a half-game behind
Colorado for the second NL wild card after the Rockies routed Philadelphia
10-3.“We have four games to play, and we feel good about the club we have and
the kind of guys we have and the character we have and the talent we have,”
Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. “We’ll control what we can control and we’ll
get after it and let the chips fall.”Following Wednesday’s series finale,
Milwaukee closes the regular season with a weekend set at home against lowly
Detroit. St. Louis also is off Thursday before beginning a three-game series
against the slumping Cubs at Wrigley Field.Yadier Molina hit a three-run homer
for the Cardinals, who had won six of seven before their 6-4 loss to Milwaukee
on Monday night. Marcell Ozuna went 3 for 3 with a walk.St. Louis left the bases
loaded in the fifth and seventh innings when Jedd Gyorko came up empty each
time. Third baseman Mike Moustakas turned an inning-ending double play on
Gyorko’s chopper near the bag in the fifth, and Gyorko flied to right for the
final out of the seventh.“This one’s kind of on me,” Gyorko said. “I’ve got to
find a way to get the job done in those situations.”Milwaukee scored 11 runs
with two out
http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-corey-seager-jersey , including its first six. Yelich came up with the bases loaded in the fourth and
tripled into the gap in right-center, lifting the Brewers to a 6-0 lead. After
Lorenzo Cain was intentionally walked with two out in the ninth, Yelich hit a
three-run drive to center.“It’s part of the game, but at the same time, it’s a
challenge,” Yelich said of the walk to Cain. “As a competitor, you want to
answer the challenge.”Yelich is batting .346 with seven homers and 28 RBIs in 22
games this month. He has 33 homers, 104 RBIs, 110 runs and 181 hits on the year,
all career highs.Braun, who won the MVP award in 2011
Enrique Hernandez Jersey , said he thinks Yelich is about to join the club.“I can’t foresee a scenario in which he doesn’t win it,” Braun said. “He’s
been so incredible for us in every facet of the game.”Taylor Williams (1-3), the
second of six Milwaukee relievers after Gio Gonzalez pitched four innings, got
three outs for the win. The Brewers used nine pitchers in their series-opening
victory.Cardinals rookie Austin Gomber (6-2) was tagged for five runs and seven
hits in 3 2/3 innings.LONG GONECardinals first baseman Matt Carpenter and Shildt
were ejected in the seventh inning. Carpenter argued with home plate umpire Will
Little after he was called out on strikes, and then was thrown out as he walked
toward the dugout.“I understand the importance of staying in these games,”
Carpenter said. “So when I get thrown out of the game as I’m walking away,
that’s something I have a problem with.”TRAINER’S ROOMBrewers: All-Star reliever
Jeremy Jeffress was available after he missed the series opener because of neck
spasms.Cardinals: 2B Kolten Wong returned to the starting lineup for the first
time since he left Friday’s victory over San Francisco with cramps in both
hamstrings. He struck out swinging as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning of
Monday’s loss. “Obviously at this point of the season no one’s 100 percent,” he
said. “For me as long as I know I can run and I can play I’m going to be out
there.”UP NEXTBrewers right-hander Jhoulys Chacin (14-8, 3.61 ERA) and Cardinals
right-hander John Gant (7-6, 3.53 ERA) pitch Wednesday night in the series
finale. Chacin is 0-3 with a 4.34 ERA in four September starts. Gant lasted just
2 2/3 innings in his last outing, yielding one run and four hits Friday against
the Giants. DETROIT — High-profile Chicago right-hander Lucas Giolito and
journeyman Detroit left-hander Ryan Carpenter will square off Saturday in a
matchup of pitchers trying to carve out roster spots for themselves in
2019.Giolito (9-9
http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-manny-machado-jersey , 6.08 ERA) was the 16th overall selection by Washington in the 2012 draft. He has
had some health issues that have taken a few ticks off his fastball but is
trying to adjust. He’s making his 26th start for the White Sox this
season.Giolito is 1-1 with a 6.88 ERA in three starts against Detroit this
season and is 2-1 with a 4.88 ERA in four career starts.Article continues below
...Carpenter (1-1, 6.00 ERA) was signed by the Tigers as a six-year free agent
during the winter and received an early callup to Detroit when injuries created
an opening. But he suffered a side injury and spent two months on the disabled
list recuperating.Carpenter, who is making his first appearance against the
White Sox, was called up and posted his first major league win at Minnesota in
his last start. This is his first year in the majors and he’s getting a shot at
maintaining a rotation spot for the rest of the season.He will replace
left-hander Blaine Hardy, who is in his first year as a starter but recently was
placed on the disabled list with elbow inflammation. He will work out of the
bullpen, giving Detroit two left-handed relievers, when he comes off the
disabled list Monday.Earlier this week, the Tigers called a players-only meeting
to address how they need to finish the first year of a rebuilding effort.“It was
about the culture we want to create moving forward,” catcher James McCann said.
“It’d be very easy for a team where we are right now to say, ‘All right, we’ll
see you in spring training
Logan Forsythe Jersey ,’ but no, it’s gotta start now, and that’s just something we wanted to address, about how we handle our business both on and off
the field and not allowing the results or lack thereof, affect how we prepare to
play.“And not just preparing to play, but preparing to win.”“It’s great when
coaches talk about it and the manager talks about it, but when players get
together and talk about it, I like that,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “I
want them to understand what they’re trying to do. We got some good leaders in
there. We gotta finish the season, we gotta play hard the rest of the way.
They’ve done it up to this point; don’t quit now.”Rick Renteria was back in the
Chicago dugout Friday night managing the White Sox after missing four games with
a spell of lightheadness. Doctors in Chicago cleared him to return to the team
so he booked a flight to Detroit and got to the dugout just before game
time.Chicago scored six times in the eighth inning against Detroit right-handers
Joe Jimenez and Shane Greene to post a 6-3 win Friday night over Detroit to mark
Renteria’s return.Bench coach Joe McEwing had been handling the managerial
duties in those four games.“I will resume my role as bench coach and Ricky will
manage,” McEwing said. “Under the circumstances it’s not the way you’d want to
go about it but it’s been a lot of fun.”“We prepare the same anyway. As a
staff
http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-mark-lowe-jersey , we go out there and try to be prepared for who we’re facing that night and how
we’re going to play them defensively and how we’re going to pitch them. Who are
the runners? Controlling the running game. And we prepare that way every single
day. We prepare to try to put our ballclub in the best position to be
successful.“In that respect, everything stays the same on a daily basis. But
being able to manage it and put your twist on it, it’s been a great learning
experience and one that I never take for granted and continue to learn every
single day and build on it.”The White Sox announced right-hander Dylan Cease,
one of their top pitching prospects, is being shut down for the season after
reaching a career high of 124 innings between Class A Winston-Salem and Double-A
Birmingham.Cease struck out 11 batters in five scoreless innings in his final
appearance for the Barons. He had a 0.94 ERA in his last nine games, with 71
strikeouts and 20 walks in 47 2/3 innings. He was 12-2 with a 2.40 ERA between
the two levels.His 160 strikeouts were tied for fourth in minor league baseball.
Right-hander Michael Kopech, just called up to Chicago, leads the minors with
170.
