(METRO) – In the heat of the National League Central title race, the Milwaukee Brewers missed a chance to catch the St. Louis Cardinals, who lost to the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.However, the Brewers were far more concerned about the status of outfielder Ryan Braun, who left their Friday game against the host Colorado Rockies in the second inning due to a left calf strain.Braun said it felt a little better after treatment and that he would have an MRI on the leg. His status for the rest of the series and the playoffs will be determined after the test.Milwaukee’s starting lineup Friday was without third baseman Mike Moustakas, who was nursing a sore left elbow. He pinch-hit in the ninth inning, popping out to end the game.The Brewers fell 11-7 to the Rockies in the series opener, with Milwaukee relievers allowing seven runs in the sixth inning to squander a 2-1 lead.The loss, coupled with the Cardinals’ 8-2 defeat to the Chicago Cubs, leaves the Brewers one game behind the first-place St. Louis in the division with two games to go. Milwaukee is two games back of the Washington Nationals in the chase for the top NL wild card.
Zach Davies pitched well for the Brewers, exiting with a 2-1 lead after five innings.
Then the bullpen with Ray Black, Alex Claudio, Jay Jackson and Jake Faria combined to give up 10 runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
It got so bad that seldom used Jimmy Nelson pitched the ninth for Milwaukee. Before the Friday bullpen collapse, Brewers pitchers posted a 1.30 ERA over the previous 10 games, which had helped fuel an 18-2 stretch that clinched a postseason berth.”You catch some breaks when you go on a winning streak like this. We’ve also pitched so well; that’s not catching a break,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said before Friday’s game.”Our pitchers have thrown the ball so well. There have been big hits in this stretch, but we’ve pitched exceptionally well, we’ve kept runs off the board, and it’s taking pressure off what theoffense has had to do.”
Keston Hiura went four-for-four for the Brewers while Lorenzo Cain was two-for-three. Orlando Orcia drove in three runs.
Counsell sends left-hander Gio Gonzalez to face Colorado’s Chi Chi Gonzalez on Saturday night. Gio Gonzalez (3-2, 3.70 ERA) has pitched against the Rockies six times in his career, going 4-1 with a 3.58 ERA. Half of those starts have come at Coors Field, and hewent 2-0 with a 4.60 ERA in those contests.His Colorado counterpart has not faced the Brewers in his career. Chi Chi Gonzalez (2-6, 5.68 ERA) has been in the rotation since mid-July, and after a rough six weeks, he has been pitching well for the Rockies.
