Angels 4, Royals 3

Houston's 7-6 victory dims Brewers' playoff hopes

First Posted: 9/2/2012 (AP) Ryan Braun hit his NL-leading 37th home run, pitcher Yovani Gallardo also connected and the Milwaukee Brewers outslugged Pittsburgh 12-8 Sunday, sending the Pirates to their 10th loss in 13 games.
Jeff Bianchi, Rickie Weeks and Carlos Gomez also connected as Milwaukee tied a season high with five home runs.
Garrett Jones, Michael McKenry and Gaby Sanchez homered for the wild card-contending Pirates, who got swept in the three-game series.
Pirates starter James McDonald (12-7) was tagged for eight runs and six hits in 2 2-3 innings. He struck out six, but was tagged for four home runs.
Milwaukee has won six in a row at home and 14 of its last 16 at Miller Park. Kameron Loe (5-4) picked up the victory in relief of Gallardo, who failed to complete the fifth inning.
John Axford closed out the game to earn his 23rd save. He came in with two runners on base and recorded three consecutive outs.
The Pirates touched Gallardo for 11 hits and seven earned runs in 4 2-3 innings. He also walked while throwing a season-high 119 pitches.
Gallardo entered the game with a major league-leading 22 quality starts. He had won each of his previous six starts, posting a 1.90 ERA during the stretch.
Braun hit a three-run homer in the first, a 458-foot drive. After McKenry hit a leadoff homer in the second, the Brewers scored three more in the bottom half.
Bianchi had his second homer and Weeks launched a 455-foot shot off the center-field scoreboard. Weeks finished with three hits and scored four times.
McKenry hit a two-run single in the third that pulled Pittsburgh to 6-4. Gomez hit a two-run homer in the bottom half and chased McDonald.
Gallardo homered in the fourth. It was his 10th career home run, extending his franchise record for a pitcher.
Jones hit his 23rd homer in the sixth.
NOTES: Norichika Aoki returned to leadoff spot in the Milwaukee lineup and played right field after not starting the previous two games because of a stiff neck. ... The Pirates have hit 16 home runs in nine games at Miller Park this season, the most by any visiting team. ... Brock Holt of the Pirates got his first major league start, playing second base and leading off. He recorded his first career hit when he singled in the fourth inning. He also singled in the fifth, driving in his first run. ... Jeff Locke is scheduled to start for the Pirates on Monday against Houston. He was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis, where he was 10-5 with a 2.48 ERA in 24 starts. Locke made two relief appearances earlier this season for the Pirates.
<a title="Associated Press" href="http://www.ap.org" class="url org fn">Associated Press</a>

Brewers hit 5 HRs, outslug skidding Pirates