Brewers keep playoff hopes alive with 3-0 win over Cardinals

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Brandon Woodruff allowed two hits in eight innings and the Milwaukee Brewers kept their playoff hopes alive by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 on Saturday night.

Ryan Braun and Daniel Vogelbach hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth, the third time the Brewers have hit consecutive homers this season.

“We have to win, and I think in the back of everybody’s mind we knew that, but I think the most important thing with these type games is you just go about your day the same as you’ve done for 12 other starts,” Woodruff said. “It’s tough to do, but it’s something that if you can keep that same routine and keep that going, it makes everything seem normal.”

Woodruff (3-5) retired 19 straight after pitching around leadoff hits in the first and second innings as Milwaukee (29-30) moved within a game of St. Louis (29-28). Both teams are among four NL clubs vying for two open postseason spots. NL Central rival Cincinnati (30-29 after Saturday's loss to Minnesota) clinched a playoff berth on Friday.

“I love throwing in these type games,” Woodruff said. “That’s just what I like doing. ... I just feel like I can slow the game down. We made some good defensive plays early on. They had some traffic early, but I was able to get through those innings and was able to start making pitches.”

Woodruff struck out 10 and walked one as he beat the Cardinals for the second time this season. He threw a season-high 108 pitches, 73 for strikes.

“The story of the game was Woody,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “It was just as good a start I think that we’ve seen since the (CC) Sabathia start at the end of ’08, in a big game, in a regular-season game, to deliver right there and not only deliver but help us for tomorrow, it can’t...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Brewers-keep-playoff-hopes-alive-with-3-0-win-15600256.php