PITTSBURGH, PA  -  (WSAU)  The Brewers continued to torment Pittsburgh Wednesday, taking two in a row from the Pirates and gaining a bit more ground in the Wild Card standings with a 3-1 win at PNC Park.

Norichika Aoki led off the game with a home run.   Right-handed pitcher Marco Estrada did the rest, pitching seven scoreless innings and doing his part at bat bringing in two more runs -- one with an RBI single and another when he reached on an error.

The Brewers improved to 76-72 and were three outs shy of their third consecutive shutout victory, a feat that would have matched a club record. They settled for their 22nd win in 28 games.

The Brewers remain 2 1/2 games behind the Cardinals and Dodgers in the playoff race. Milwaukee plays Pittsburgh again Thursday afternoon at 2:30pm CT on AM-550 FM-99.9 WSAU.