Ryan Braun hit his National League leading 37th home run to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 12-8 win and a sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates at Miller Park on Sunday.
Yovani Gallardo struggled on the mound and didn’t last long enough to secure the victory for the Brewers, but he did hit a home run. The Brewers tied a season high with five homers in all. Jeff Bianchi, Rickie Weeks and Carlos Gomez also joined the home run parade.
The Brewers pulled off the three-game sweep of the Pirates, who have dropped 10 of their last 13 games. The Pirates trail the St. Louis Cardinals by 1 1/2 games in the wildcard standings.
After the game, the Brewers were talking playoffs. They head to Miami to face the Marlins today, just 6 1/2 games out of the last Wildcard spot.
AUDIO: Ryan Braun says they’re still in the playoff race :13
The Brewers are drawing inspiration from the St. Louis Cardinals who last season battled from a 10 1/2 game deficit on Aug. 25th to clinch the wild card and go on to win the World Series.
The Pirates trail the Cardinals for the final wild card spot by 1 1/2 games. They have 3-more games against the Brewers, Sept. 18-20.