From here on out, every game is a must-win for the Milwaukee Brewers.
So when starter Matt Garza was ejected by home-plate umpire Marty Foster in the fifth inning of a scoreless game for hitting Andrew McCutchen on a 1-2 pitch after both benches had previously been warned, the Brewers had to be wondering what else could go wrong.
But six relievers helped Milwaukee overcome Garza's early exit, buying the Brewers' offense time to finally plate a run on a Logan Schafer sacrifice fly in the ninth inning.
The Brewers understand the long odds they are facing, but a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on Saturday kept their faint postseason hopes alive, if only for one more night.
"We had to win this game," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "That's all there is to it."
After Garza hit McCutchen with a pitch with two outs in the third inning, Pirates starter Edinson Volquez threw up and in to Ryan Braun in the top of the fourth, prompting Foster to warn both benches.
Garza struck out the first two batters he faced in the fifth before jumping ahead 1-2 on McCutchen. His next offering hit the Pirates star in the left elbow.
Umpires are not forced to eject a pitcher for hitting a batter after warnings are issued, but Foster immediately threw Garza out. By rule, Roenicke was automatically ejected.
"If people think I hit McCutchen on purpose with a 1-2 count in a game like this, then you are just an idiot," Garza said. "That goes for the Pirates TV crew that kept insinuating that that's what we were doing. Then you are an idiot.
"Because in a game like this, a starter doesn't go after a guy like that. It's a 1-2 count. I'm trying to pitch inside. A guy leans in, it hits him on the elbow, and that's my day. It is what it is. I'm just happy we pulled it out."
Garza tried to plead his case to Foster, but it was to no avail. He stormed off the field and threw his glove against the dugout wall.
"I tried to plead my case to the umpire," Garza said. "He just told me, 'In this type of situation my hands are tied.' I said, 'Come on, you know it!' He was like, 'Yeah, I know.' All three umpires over there were like, 'You have to understand the situation.' It is a playoff atmosphere situation, of course. Everybody's on the edge of their seats right now.
"Pitching inside to a guy like McCutchen, you have to do it. He's got enough respect and enough power to take the ball out if you just leave it out over. It is what it is. It slipped in there and it hit him. Oh well. Sorry."
While Roenicke disagreed with the ejection, he understood why Foster reacted the way he did.
"I think everybody knows he wasn't trying to hit him, but the umpire is in a tough spot," Roenicke said. "You have given a warning. If you brush a guy it is a little bit different, but when you hit him up and in, I get why they had to make that call.
"I actually went out the inning before and said, 'Listen, obviously we would never hit somebody here. And if he does, it is going to be an accident.' He just thought that he was almost forced to do it. I just think where it was thrown and up and in -- I understand it."
Marco Estrada replaced Garza, while Jonathan Lucroy threw McCutchen out stealing to end the fifth. Estrada worked a scoreless sixth inning before handing the ball to Jeremy Jeffress for the seventh.
Jeffress got two quick outs but then allowed back-to-back singles to put runners at the corners. With Will Smith on the mound, the Pirates tried to steal a run with a double steal. Smith alertly threw to Lyle Overbay, who nabbed pinch-runner Gregory Polanco at the plate to end the inning.
An infield single and a walk gave Pittsburgh two on with nobody out against Brandon Kintzler in the eighth. Neil Walker's slow roller advanced the runners to second in third, causing the Brewers to intentionally walk Russell Martin to load the bases.
Kintzler got Starling Marte to line out to third baseman Aramis Ramirez for the second out, leaving a decision to be made. The Brewers opted to go to left-hander Zach Duke, knowing the Pirates would pinch-hit Gaby Sanchez for Ike Davis.
Duke got Sanchez to hit into a fielder's choice to end the inning, keeping the game tied.
Unable to muster much offensively against Volquez, the Brewers finally got something going in the ninth. Facing Pirates closer Mark Melancon, Ryan Braun led off with a single to left.
Elian Herrera then bunted into a fielder's choice, leaving a runner at first with one out. Milwaukee caught a break when Overbay hit a slow chopper that bounced over Sanchez's head at first base and went down the line for a double.
Pittsburgh opted to intentionally walk pinch-hitter Matt Clark to load the bases for Schafer. The reserve outfielder lofted a cutter just deep enough into left-center to allow Herrera to beat Marte's throw home.
"Mark's got a really good cutter, and he throws it with a lot of velocity and it has a lot of downward action, too," Schafer said. "I was just trying to spread out and make sure I hit the inside half of the baseball. You don't want to roll over and get around something in that situation.
"You are trying to hit something in the air, you are trying to hit something hard. I was just looking for something to do the job with. Luckily, Elly had enough legs to get home."
The win pulled the Brewers to within 3 1/2 games of the Pirates for the National League's second wild-card with seven games to play. One victory doesn't change the dire situation Milwaukee is in, but the Brewers hope to keep the pressure on the Pirates by winning as many games as they can.
"Tomorrow we are going to come out and fight," Garza said. "We know the situation that we are in, we kind of did it to ourselves. We know what we have to do, and that's keep fighting."
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