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PITTSBURGH (AP) – A long rain did not dampen the Milwaukee Brewers' hopes of catching the Chicago Cubs in NL Central.
Travis Shaw, Mike Moustakas and Erik Kratz competed in a sixth round of six innings and the Brewers rallied for an 8-3 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night. Milwaukee sank 3-1 in the lead of the fifth inning when the rain stopped for two hours and fourteen minutes.
The Brewers collected 1½ game in the division's Cubs, who lost 10-4 to the White Sox. Milwaukee leads the standings with three games against the St. Louis Cardinals.
"It's tough when you raise a game at 10:30 pm," said Brewers manager Craig Counsell. "For us, at the moment, we know that these are important games, so it is easier to get locked in. There was energy in the canoe.
Shaw's 30th-half home run followed by Jesus Aguilar's RBI double and allowed the Brewers to take 4-3. After Ryan Braun walked, Moustakas and Kratz hit twice in a row. The Kratz Road cleared the 410-foot panel in the center left, the deepest part of the park.
"Once this momentum is launched, it is contagious," Shaw said. "It was a good win for us."
Brewers insist that they do not obsessively watch the dashboard.
"We take care of our business every day," said outfielder Christian Yelich. "It worked for us that way."
Pittsburgh had a run of five straight wins. The Pirates fell 5½ games behind the Colorado Rockies for the second wild card NL.
Keon Broxton added a solo circuit in eighth place for the Brewers.
"They have a high-level offense," said Clint Hurdle, manager of the Pirates, about the Brewers. "They can do it in different ways, they have reduced our basic place tonight, which does not happen very often."
Corbin Burnes (6-0) scored a scoreless fifth. Edgar Santana (3-4) allowed three in the sixth and was unable to remove any of the three batters he faced.
Corey Dickerson of the Pirates hit a two-point run in the fourth, his 12th of the season, but the first since July 22, 147 shots on goal and tripled.
The Josh Bell circuit gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead in the first and Braun tied with a RBI single in the fourth.
Neither the starting pitcher came back after the delay. Jhoulys Chacin allowed three runs in four innings, while remaining without a win in six starts against Pittsburgh this season, and Ivan Nova allowed a run in 4 1/3 innings.
TRAINER ROOM
Brewers: CF Lorenzo Cain (right cat) missed his second game in a row and there is no schedule for his return. … Braun came back after playing three games with back discomfort.
Pirates: C Francisco Cervelli (gastro-intestinal disease) and Santana (forearm / elbow malaise) left for the sixth. … RF Gregory Polanco (left shoulder surgery) will begin his rehab this weekend at the Pirates Training Center in Bradenton, Florida.
HADER CASSER A RECORD
Josh Hader eliminated three of the four batters he faced to break the league record of the Major League season for left-back. He has 136 in 77 innings.
John Hiller had the record since 1974, when he had 134 strikeouts in 150 innings for Detroit.
"It's all an achievement," said Hader. "I just tried to be consistent with the combination of the fastball all season long."
THE GREATEST FAN OF YELICH
Yelich's bid for the MVP was spurred by Cleveland Brown rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield on Thursday night.
Mayfield wore a Yelich trip when he arrived at the 21-17 stadium against the New York Jets, ending Cleveland's 19-game winless streak. Mayfield and Yelich worked together during the winter in the Los Angeles area.
After shining in his NFL debut to relieve Tyrod Taylor, injured, Mayfield ended his post-game press conference by saying, "Yelich for MVP".
"It was really cool," Yelich said.
Yelich did not wear a Mayfield jersey at the stadium on Friday.
"I have one in my locker in Milwaukee," Yelich said. "I should have it packed, bad timing on my part."
THINKING OF BANISTER
Hurdle was in contact with Jeff Banister, who was sacked Friday as Texas Rangers manager. Banister coached Hurdle in 2011-14.
"Jeff Banister is a good man, a good father and a good husband and that's the most important thing," said Hurdle.
PRICE SEASON
CF Starling Marte was selected as the winner of the Roberto Clemente Award, presented to the Pirates 'Most Outstanding Player by the Pittsburgh Section of the American Baseball Writers' Association. RHP Trevor Williams won the Steve Blass Award for Best Pitcher and RHP Jameson Taillon won the Chuck Tanner Award for his cooperation with the media.
Meanwhile, the Pirates paid tribute to 3B Ke Bryan Hayes and RHP JT Brubaker as best player and pitcher of their minor league before the match. Hayes averaged .293 in 117 games with Double-A Altoona with seven home runs, 47 RBIs and 12 stolen bases, while Brubaker was a 10-6 combined with an average of 2.81 in 28 starts with Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis.
FOLLOWING
Brewers: RHP Zach Davies (2-6, 4.66 ERA) launches Saturday night. He is 0-1 with an ERA of 3.00 in three starts since his exit from May 30th to September 7th. 2 with inflammation of the rotator cuff in his right shoulder.
Pirates: Williams (13-9, 3.16) has only allowed eight points on 65 2/3 innings in his last 11 starts for an ERA of 1.51.
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