 allowed five singles. Anthony Swarzak retired six of the seven batters he faced, and Corey Knebel earned a save with a perfect ninth. Seven of his 39 saves this season have come against the Pirates.Milwaukee remained 3 1-2 games behind the Chicago Cubs for the division lead. After Wednesday's series finale at PNC Park, the Brewers head back to Milwaukee to host a four-game series against the Cubs.The Brewers moved within 2 games of Colorado for the second wild-card spot. The Rockies played later Tuesday.Santana extended his hitting streak to seven games when he turned on a 1-0 slider from Trevor Williams and hit it into the first row at one of PNC Park's most shallow points, a few feet to the right of the left-field foul pole.That was one of three hits Williams (6-9) allowed over five innings. But Pittsburgh's struggling offense offered no support; the Pirates have scored nine runs during their seven-game losing streak.Anderson was the beneficiary Tuesday, improving to 3-0 this season against Pittsburgh. At one point, he retired 10 consecutive hitters and 13 of 14. But his most impressive work was getting out of a jam in his final inning.Adam Frazier led off with a single to center and moved to second on an errant pickoff throw. Starling Marte followed with a well-placed bunt single, putting runners at first and third with no outs.But Anderson struck out Andrew McCutchen, got Josh Bell to fly out weakly to center and induced an inning-ending pop-out from Gregory Polanco.The Brewers' bullpen finished the shutout; it has allowed four earned runs over 43 2/3 innings over the past 10 games.TRAINER'S ROOMBrewers: RHP Jimmy Nelson had surgery Tuesday to address the rotator cuff strain and partial anterior labrum tear he sustained while diving into a base earlier this month. Nelson had already been ruled out for the season, and his status for the beginning of next season remains in question. ''We're still not going to have an answer (after the surgery), necessarily,'' Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. ''He's still got a rehab process that might have a pretty big window of time. We'll just wait and see.'' Nelson leads the Brewers in ERA (3.49) and strikeouts (199) and is second in wins (a career-high 12).Pirates: Marte was back in the lineup for the first time in five games because of left shoulder and finger discomfort.UP NEXTBrewers: Counsell announced before the game that RHP Aaron Wilkerson will start Wednesday, five days after the 28-year-old made his major-league debut with a scoreless inning of relief. Wilkerson's contract was purchased Friday; he went 11-4 with a 3.16 ERA in 24 starts for Double-A Biloxi this season but hasn't started a game since Aug. 31. ''We will see how far he can get,'' Counsell said. ''. We feel like he has been pitching in a way that we think he can have success up here.'' Pirates: LHP Steven Brault will make his third start for the Pirates after earning International League Pitcher of the Year honors with Triple-A Indianapolis. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said that RHP Tyler Glasnow, who also had a dominating season in at Indianapolis, will follow Brault.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball)
Brewers look to gain more ground in Pittsburgh 2h ago• 3 min read PITTSBURGH -- The two teams the Milwaukee Brewers are chasing for a playoff spot -- the Chicago Cubs for the National League Central title and the Colorado Rockies for the second NL wild card -- were off Monday.The Brewers (80-70) took full advantage by shutting out the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0 in the opener of a three-game series at PNC Park. They are 3 1/2 games behind the Cubs, two games behind the Rockies.Milwaukee won't have the schedule in its favor Tuesday with all teams playing, but it will take whatever gains it can get."Every game, every series is more magnified this time of year," Milwaukee second baseman Neil Walker said. "You try not to look around. Obviously, you know where you are in the standings, but when you're playing on a night (like Monday) when the teams you're chasing are not playing and you can pick up a half a game, that's always important." The Brewers are facing a club that has little to play for beyond pride. Pittsburgh (68-83) has lost six in a row and 11 of 12. Not that anything is a given against a struggling team out of the postseason hunt."Look, we don't have a lot of margin for error," Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. "Another win adds a little more pressure to the teams we're chasing and puts us in a good spot." Counsell is still formulating things for the final weeks of the season. For instance, he hasn't named a starter for the Wednesday game against the Pirates.Tuesday's starter, however, is set.Chase Anderson (10-3, 2.88 ERA) faced the Pirates just last Wednesday, and while he had a good outing -- two runs (one earned), seven hits, one walk, two strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings in an 8-2 Brewers win -- he already knows the Tuesday start will be different.That's because the Wednesday win was the first time in his career he pitched on three days' rest. The move occurred after Jimmy Nelson underwent season-ending shoulder surgery."It showed (courage). A lot of gusto," Milwaukee first baseman Eric Thames told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Any time a guy will go out there and throw 90 or 100 pitches on three days' rest, that shows a lot. That means a lot to our team." Anderson figures missing seven weeks earlier this season because of a strained left oblique left him rested and in a good position to be a key player as the Brewers chase a playoff spot."I want to be 'that guy,'" he told the Journal Sentinel. "There's plenty of guys in this clubhouse that can be that guy, but when you get asked to do it, it's an honor. I hope to do it throughout this September and, hopefully, in the postseason."I feel strong, I feel healthy, and I think being out with the oblique injury kind of set me up for this. Kind of a blessing in disguise. Arm feels great, I'm ready to go." Anderson is 5-2 with a 3.20 ERA in 10 career starts against the Pirates. This season, he is 2-0 with a 2.38 ERA in two starts vs. Pittsburgh.Anderson will be pitted against Pittsburgh's Trevor Williams (6-8, 4.26 ERA).Williams is 1-4 in his past six outings despite some strong starts after he pitched a gem Aug. 7 against Detroit, when he went seven scoreless innings as part of a combined one-hitter.As Pittsburgh has done with others, Williams was skipped on what would have been his most recent turn in the rotation. In his most recent start, on Sept. 8 in St. Louis, he allowed four runs and four hits with four walks and five strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings during a 4-1 loss.Before that start appearance, he had allowed two runs total in three starts, but he wasn't sharp against the Cardinals, and then had to wait to get another crack."It was lack of execution on some pitches," Williams said. "My slider kept missing down, and they weren't really biting. I didn't make the adjustment to throw for strikes. I walked too many guys. It was just unacceptable pitch execution." In his career, Williams is 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA in one relief appearance and one start against Milwaukee.
Looking for More Picks?
You can browse all the individual handicapper picks below.
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pick Center
MLB
FINAL (9/19/2017)
ProfessorsPicks
