Brewers stay hot behind Braun and Hardy
No team in baseball is playing as well as the Milwaukee Brewers and no hitter is on a tear like Ryan Braun.
The left fielder hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to cap his second straight four-hit game and Milwaukee won its eighth straight, 4-3 over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night.
The latest win completed a 7-0 road trip that included a four-game sweep of the Cardinals.
"Right now, our confidence level is at an all-time high," Braun said. "This is the way you want to start the second half of the season."
The run, which has coincided with the acquisition of starter CC Sabathia from Cleveland, has the Brewers within one game of the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.
"Clutch hitting, great pitching, this was a great road trip," Milwaukee manager Ned Yost said. "We've got a lot of clutch players, a lot of guys who really want to win and it shows."
In other NL games Thursday, it was: New York 3, Philadelphia 1; Chicago 6, Florida 3; Pittsburgh 9, San Diego 1; and San Francisco 1, Washington 0.
Braun, who has reached base in nine consecutive plate appearances, went 14-for-29 on the trip with three homers. He said the home run off closer Ryan Franklin (3-4) that gave Milwaukee a 4-3 lead, provided him with a huge thrill.
"To me, a game-winning homer is the best feeling in the world," he said. "There's nothing better."
The Brewers have hit at least one home run in each of their last 20 games, a franchise record.
J.J. Hardy had three hits and Prince Fielder added two for the Brewers as their Nos. 2, 3 and 4 hitters went 9-for-12 on a night Milwaukee had 10 hits.
Eric Gagne (3-2) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win and Salomon Torres recorded his 19th save.
Milwaukee starter Ben Sheets allowed two earned runs and struck out four in seven innings.
St. Louis scored in the first and third innings and carried a 3-2 lead into the ninth. Hardy started the winning rally with a one-out single. Braun then ripped an 0-1 offering from Franklin into the bleachers in left-center.
"I made some really good pitches (but) messed up on one," Franklin said.