ST. LOUIS (AP) —Led by Christian Yelich’s silky smooth game
Ferguson Jenkins 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, including its first six. Yelich came up with the bases loaded in the fourth and tripled into the gap in right-center
http://www.rangersfanproshop.com/authentic-jason-grilli-jersey , 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, 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)
Ryan Rua Jersey , 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. A strong start from rookie Walker Buehler would go a long way for the Dodgers as they look to swing the series momentum in front of the home crowd.The 24-year-old has a 1.93 ERA at home this season, and he's stood up well to the pressure of October baseball so far, turning in a solid outing in Game 7 of the NLCS his last time out.David Adler of MLB.comcalled attention to the Red Sox's abilities as a fastball-hitting team, so the key for Buehler could be his ability to locate his curveball.Adler wrote: "One area Boston showed just a sliver of vulnerability is against high-spin curveballs
Drew Robinson Jersey , and Buehler has one. The MLB average curveball spin rate in 2018 was 2,492 rpm. Buehler's averaged2,756 rpm as a starterin the regular season, and it is averaging 2,800 rpm in the playoffs. More spin on a curveball generally means more movement and better outcomes for the pitcher."Buehler threw his curveball 14.1 percent of the time during the regular season, holding opposing hitters to a .179 batting average and a stingy .036 ISO, according to Brooks Baseball.Offensively, keep an eye on Manny Machado, who has enjoyed significant success against Red Sox starter Rick Porcello in his career with a13-for-38line that includes two home runs.Red SoxJ.D. MartinezMaddie Meyer/Getty ImagesFiguring out how to get J.D. Martinez into the lineup with the DH no longer in play will be the biggest pregame decision for Alex Cora.Mike Petriello of MLB.com spelled out his two choices:Start Brock Holt at 2B, Mookie Betts in CF, J.D. Martinez in RF, bench Jackie Bradley and Ian Kinsler.Start Mookie Betts at 2B
http://www.rangersfanproshop.com/authentic-alex-claudio-jersey , Jackie Bradley in CF, J.D. Martinez in RF, bench Brock Holt andIan Kinsler.Martinez played left field (32 games) and right field (25 games) sparingly this season, while Betts played six innings at second base and has ample experience from his time in the minors, so option No. 2 is not as far-fetched as it might seem.Martinez is hitting .333/.429/.538 with two home runs and 13 RBI in 11 games this postseason, so there's no way he won't be part of the starting lineup.It's also worthmentioning that the versatile Holt was an excellent5-for-13 with two doubles, one triple and two home runs as a pinch-hitter during the regular season, so he has a chance to be a real weapon off the bench.On the pitching side, manager Alex Cora will need to decide whether to use Nathan Eovaldi in the eighth inning again if the score is close. The standout starter pitched a scoreless eighth in Game 1 and Game 2, and Cora didn't rule out a similar approach in Game 3, despite the fact that Eovaldi is currently in line for the Game 4 start."You never know," Cora told reporters. "Like I've been saying all along
Robinson Chirinos Jersey , we're all-in every day. If we feel there's a chance to close the door with them, we'll use him. The way it's mapped out, it's Rick in Game 3 and maybe Nate in Game 4. But Nate might come in in the eighth again. If we have a chance to be up 3-0 with him on the mound, and then [Craig Kimbrel], we'll do it. And then we'll figure out Game 4."If Eovaldi does wind up pitching on Friday, that could mean a start for Eduardo Rodriguez.One thing is for sure, there's no shortage of interesting storylines heading into Game 3 of the 2018 World Series.All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted.