The St. Louis Cardinals have seen just about enough of Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun over the past two days. Catcher Yadier Molina and manager Tony La Russa managed to see a few innings less of him than everyone else Monday night. Braun hit two home runs for the second game in a row, and Molina and La Russa were ejected for arguing balls and strikes shortly after the second of Braun's two...

The ninth inning for the Milwaukee Brewers' new closer by committee was as adventurous as some of Eric Gagne's recent outings. There was one difference, though: the Brewers held on for the win. With Gagne yanked from the closer's role Sunday after faltering in back-to-back outings, relievers Salomon Torres and Brian Shouse helped make Jeff Suppan's seven solid innings stand up by holding on for a...

Eric Gagne no longer wants to be called the Brewers' closer. He's pitching his way out of that role, anyway. The former NL Cy Young Award winner gave up a two-run single with two outs in the ninth inning to Ryan Ludwick, and St. Louis held on for a 5-3 victory over Milwaukee on Saturday that snapped a season-long three-game skid.

The Brewers were a pitch away from another miserable loss. Then Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen started throwing like a second-grader again. After getting two outs on two pitches, Isringhausen imploded, allowing two singles and a walk before Rickie Weeks' two-run single gave Milwaukee a 4-3 victory on Friday night and snapped the Brewers' six-game losing streak.

Bad news for the Florida Marlins: If they play Milwaukee again, it won't be until the postseason. And at the moment, the Brewers don't look like playoff contenders. Matt Treanor hit a three-run homer and first-place Florida completed a three-game sweep Thursday night by beating Milwaukee 7-2. The Brewers lost their sixth game in a row, their longest losing streak this year.

The Milwaukee Brewers couldn't spell Burke Badenhop, and they had trouble hitting him, too. The Florida Marlins rookie pitched 5 2-3 innings Wednesday night for his first major league victory, a 6-2 win over the Brewers, who lost their fifth game in a row. At the top of Brewers' pregame notes distributed in the press box, Florida's starting pitcher was identified as "Bradenhop." "No respect.

Scott Olsen came within a strike of his first complete game. He happily settled for a victory. The Florida Marlins left-hander allowed only two hits in 8 2-3 innings, and Mike Jacobs hit a two-run homer to help beat the slumping Milwaukee Brewers 3-0 on Tuesday night. The Marlins haven't thrown a complete game since Sept.

Houston Astros manager Cecil Cooper was completely optimistic when Hunter Pence, 0-for-5 to that point, went to the plate in the bottom of the 12th with the game tied at 6. "I said to (bench coach) Jackie Moore, you know Hunter's 0-for-5 here. He's not getting out a sixth time," Cooper said. Pence proved his manager right with a two-run homer to lead the Houston Astros to an 8-6 win over the...

Back-to-back nights with back-to-back home runs helped the Houston Astros to their second straight win. Pitcher Brandon Backe and Michael Bourn hit consecutive home runs in a five-run fifth inning and the Astros beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-2 Saturday night. It was the first time since 2001 the Astros have had two straight nights with consecutive home runs after hitting three straight homers in the...

Julio Franco finally called it quits. The 49-year-old announced his retirement from baseball after a 23-year career in the major leagues and stints in his native Dominican Republic, South Korea, Japan and Mexico. In 2007, he became the oldest player to hit a home run in the majors. "It was the hardest decision in my life," Franco said in an interview published Saturday by Mexican sports daily...

When Miguel Tejada met 8-year-old Jacob Scott on Friday, he was so touched by the little boy with muscular dystrophy he promised him a home run. Tejada fulfilled his vow to the youngster by hitting the first of three straight Houston home runs in a 7-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. The Astros hit five homers in the game.

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo might need surgery after tearing a ligament in his right knee trying to avoid a collision near first base Thursday. "We're going to put him on the DL and bring Dave Bush back," general manager Doug Melvin said Friday. "When the swelling goes down, we'll re-evaluate him, but it appears we're going to miss him for an extended period of time." The injury came...