Ramirez, Hart lead Brewers to 9-3 win over Pirates
MILWAUKEE — Corey Hart and Aramis Ramirez both went 3 for 4 with home runs, and Pittsburgh starter Jeff Karstens left for the second consecutive time with an injury as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pirates 9-3 on Friday night.
Milwaukee starter Mark Rogers (3-1) gave up one run in 5 1-3 innings to win his third consecutive start in his last outing of the season. Ramirez had four RBIs and Nyjer Morgan had three hits, a stolen base and a walk for the Brewers.
Karstens (5-4) allowed four runs in the first inning and was forced to leave for the second consecutive start with a lower body injury. The right-hander allowed five of six batters to reach base before exiting with discomfort in his right hip flexor.
In his last start on Aug. 25 in Pittsburgh, he was removed after throwing seven innings in a 4-0 victory over Milwaukee due to a left groin strain. This time, he was charged with four runs in one-third of an inning, giving up five hits while striking out one.
Pittsburgh remained one-half game behind St. Louis for the final NL wild-card spot when the Cardinals lost 10-0 to Washington on Friday night.
No announcement was made ahead of time, but Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said on the team’s television broadcast during the game that Rogers would be shut down. With Pittsburgh star Andrew McCutchen getting a day off, the right-hander allowed a solo home run to Garrett Jones in the fourth.
He pitched 5 1-3 innings, giving up five hits and two walks while striking out five. The fifth pick in the 2004 draft, Rogers has been beset by injuries and had only pitched in four major league games before joining the Brewers in July.
He threw 134 1-3 innings combined at Triple-A Nashville and with the Brewers, up from 44 1-3 a year ago in the minor leagues. Previously, the most he had thrown in a season was 126 innings in 2010.
Morgan, a late addition to the lineup when Norichika Aoki complained of neck pain before the game, led off the bottom of the first with a double and moved to third on Rickie Week’s sharp single to right.
Karstens struck out Ryan Braun, but Ramirez laced a two-run single to left for a 2-0 lead. Hart hit his 25th home run for a 4-0 lead.
After Jonathan Lucroy singled, trainers went to the mound, talked to Karstens and he walked off the mound.
He was replaced by Kyle McPherson, who was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis earlier in the day. The Brewers made it 5-0 in the second on a passed ball by Michael McKenry that allowed Morgan to score easily from third.
Jones’ homer in the fourth was his 22nd. Pittsburgh closed within 5-2 in the seventh when Gaby Sanchez scored from third on a groundout.
Ramirez hit his 21st homer, a two-run shot, off Hisanori Takahashi in the eighth to make it 7-2. The Brewers then got an RBI double by Carlos Gomez and an RBI single by Jean Segura for a 9-2 lead.
Alex Presley’s RBI single made it 9-3 in the ninth.
Notes: Before the game, the Brewers dedicated a 7-foot tall bronze statue of longtime broadcaster Bob Uecker at Miller Park. . The Pirates recalled Presley from Nashville. To make room on the roster, INF Chase d’Arnaud was optioned to Single-A Bradenton and 1B Jeff Clement was outrighted to Bradenton. . Brewers INF Cody Ransom was claimed off waivers from Arizona ... Aoki suffered a neck injury during a collision with Morgan on Thursday in Chicago. He is day-to-day.