While technically the Brewers are still alive in the race for the National League's second wild-card spot, the Pittsburgh Pirates may have ended any realistic chance Milwaukee had at the postseason Friday night.
The decisive blow came from Russell Martin, as the Pittsburgh catcher launched a three-run home run off Jonathan Broxton in the eighth inning to give the Pirates a 3-2 lead. Pittsburgh added another eighth-inning run on a two-out RBI single from Ike Davis and held on for a 4-2 victory over Milwaukee at PNC Park.
Yet another crushing defeat came shortly after the Brewers coughed up a two-run advantage in the eighth inning in St. Louis on Thursday.
Milwaukee now trails Pittsburgh by 4 1/2 games for the second wild card with just eight to play, essentially needing to win out to have any shot at playing in October.
"We've got the games where we want them going into the late innings," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "Great starts from Kyle (Lohse) yesterday and (Yovani Gallardo) today.
"When you go into late innings, we're used to putting games away. We've been really good all year in finishing out games, and we're not doing it right now."
Like Lohse was Thursday, Gallardo was sharp against the Pirates. The right-hander scattered five hits over seven scoreless innings, striking out a season-high 11.
Gallardo recorded double-digit strikeouts for the first time since July 15, 2012, continuing his career dominance of Pittsburgh.
"We asked (the starting pitchers) to go out there and give us a chance to win and they are doing it pretty much every time," Roenicke said.
In fact, Milwaukee's starting pitchers have allowed just four earned runs over 28 1/3 innings (1.27 ERA) on this current road trip, but the Brewers are just 1-3. The offense has scored no more than two runs in the first nine innings of any of the four games.
The Brewers jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a Jonathan Lucroy RBI single in the first inning Friday and held a 2-0 advantage after Rickie Weeks blasted a solo home run off Jeff Locke in the fifth.
But Milwaukee couldn't add on. It instead counted on Gallardo and its bullpen to make two runs hold up.
Unlike Lohse a night earlier, Gallardo was clearly done after seven innings Friday, having thrown 112 pitches. Roenicke turned the ball over to Jonathan Broxton, one game after the reliever allowed his first run with the Brewers in the eighth-inning meltdown.
Starling Marte led off the eighth by hitting a slow dribbler between first and second base. Mark Reynolds fielded the ball and flipped to Broxton covering, but first-base umpire Marty Foster ruled Marte safe. The call was confirmed after Roenicke challenged the play.
"We didn't make a play again," Roenicke said. "We had another jam-shot groundball to first. That should be an out. That changes the whole ballgame when you get the leadoff batter out."
Broxton responded by striking out Andrew McCutchen, but Neil Walker followed with a single to left.
On an 0-1 pitch to Martin, Foster ruled the Pirates backstop did not go around on a check swing. Martin crushed the following offering out to right-center, sending the sellout crowd at PNC Park into frenzy.
"It makes him defensive, and we throw a different pitch," Roenicke said when asked if the check swing call made a difference. "And he did swing on it.
"We're not getting calls, but let's make plays. Let's go. It shouldn't come down to that. If we make pitches -- shoot, (Broxton)'s got great stuff. He can get these guys out. You just have to make pitches."
After not allowing a run in his first 7 1/3 innings with the Brewers, Broxton has allowed five earned runs in one full inning over the last two nights. He now carries a 9.00 ERA in eight appearances against the Pirates this season and a 1.45 ERA against the rest of the league.
"When you go through and throw that many zeros up, it is tough to lose it at the end," Roenicke said. "But we didn't add on. We didn't get any hits for quite a while at the end. They kept battling, and they get big hits."
Subsequent games will continue to matter as long as the Brewers are still mathematically alive, but the odds of overcoming a five-game deficit in the loss column with just over a week left in the season are slim to none.
The Pirates are trending upward having won 12 of 14 games, while the Brewers have spent the last month in a tailspin.
"We have the talent to do it, but a lot of people have the talent to do it," Roenicke said. "It depends on what you do when it is this part of the season and you need to win. What kind of players you have? Obviously the way (the Pirates) are playing, they have some players that know how to get after it and know how to win ballgames.
"I'm just saying that's why they are doing what they are doing. I don't know how many wins they have in their last 10 games, but it is a lot. And they are winning them late. When you have gamers and guys you understand what you need to do, that's how you win all these games late. That's what they have been doing."
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