Brewers not giving up just yet
MILWAUKEE -- Brewers manager Ned Yost was in no mood for certain questions Monday night, particularly the ones from those reporters wondering if his players had it in them to catch the Cubs in the final week of the season.
"I mean, what's wrong with you guys?" protested Yost before the Brewers took on the St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park. "Come on. We have seven days left and there's not one player in our locker that (thinks) we're out of this thing.
"If you guys have watched these kids play the last two months you should know these kids aren't about to give up. They have not given up to this point, and they're not going to give up until the math says that they are out of this thing. We've got plenty of time."
The Brewers showed they are not going to concede anything by pounding the punchless Cardinals 13-5 to pull within 3 games of the Cubs in the National League Central with six games to play.
The Cubs' magic number remained at 4.
A 4-run first inning sent the Brewers on their way, highlighted by Prince Fielder's 48th home run, a 458-foot monster blast to right-center off eventual loser Adam Wainwright.
"They came ready to play and set a tone," Yost said.
The Cubs play at Florida and Cincinnati to close the season, and the Brewers know they are going to need help from those two clubs.
"We're in a tough spot right now and may have to win all our games," said Brewers starter and winner Dave Bush. "We don't have a whole lot of room for error."
The Brewers have two more games against St. Louis, then four with San Diego, and that's where their focus is at for the week.
"We just have to stay in the moment and try to win one game at a time," Fielder said. "Of course we're going to look at what the Cubs are doing, but it's out of our control. Even if they don't lose, we've still got to try to win all our games."
Yost said focusing on the task at hand each day is all the Brewers can do this week.
"You can't do the math," Yost said. "You just do what you're supposed to do. Today we did what we were supposed to do."
In addition to Fielder's first-inning homer, rookie Ryan Braun hit a 2-run shot in the sixth, his 33rd of the season. Fielder and Braun have combined for 81 home runs.
"Those two kids are tremendously talented run producers," Yost said.
Not even Albert Pujols returning to the lineup could help the Cardinals, who have lost 15 of their last 19 games. Pujols, who had been out with a left-calf strain, went 0-for-3 after being penciled into the lineup by manager Tony La Russa just 20 minutes before the first pitch.
The Brewers improved to an NL-best 48-27 at home, so it's not out of the question that they could run the table.
"For some reason they feel real good and real confident in this stadium," Yost said. "Knowing we were coming back to our stadium and our fans now, that's been a little comforting."
The Brewers needed some comforting in the worst way after the weekend they had in Atlanta.
Saturday's 4-3 loss in 11 innings was as demoralizing as they come. Braves pinch hitter Scott Thorman's two-out home run off closer Francisco Cordero in the last of the 10th inning stunned the Brewers, who went on to lose in the 11th after second baseman Ricky Weeks bobbled a sure double play ball.
Then on Sunday, the Brewers blew a 4-1 lead after six innings and lost 7-4.
"The wonderful thing of being in a pennant race is the agony of it, the highs when it's good and the lows when it's bad," Yost said. "That's the fun of being in a pennant race."