The Milwaukee Brewers all but dashed the Pittsburgh Pirates' postseason hopes on Wednesday night by defeating them 3-1 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

The Brewers got superb starting pitching for the second straight night, as Marco Estrada threw seven impressive shut out innings, surrendering only three hits while striking out four. He also walked a batter.

Norichika Aoki led off the game by pulling a towering home run into the right field seats. The Brewers would tack on another in the fifth inning when Jean Segura led off with a double and came home on an Estrada single. Segura again led off and scored in the seventh inning, ringing a triple into right field and scoring on an error.

Pirates starter Kyle McPherson lasted only 4⅓ innings, giving up seven hits and two earned runs. Andrew McCutchen led off the ninth inning with a home run, but it was too little too late.

The win keeps the Brewers close in the race for the second National League Wild Card, as they came into the game only 2½ games behind the St. Louis Cardinals. The Pirates, however, are now an even .500 at 74-74 and looking up at the Brewers, Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers with less than two weeks left in the season. The loss means the Pirates are officially eliminated from the National League Central.