Greinke dominates, Hairston makes his mark in win

Brewers 3, Dodgers 1
W: Greinke (12-4) L: Eovaldi (1-1) SV: Axford (36)

The Brewers won their sixth straight game and it is clear now they control their own destiny. Simply put, if Milwaukee keeps winning they will have their first division crown since 1982.

"It's definitely not locked up, but if we continue to play well, it should happen," Greinke said after the game. "It's on us, mainly. It is ours to lose, I think, as of right now."

The Brewers kept pace with the Cardinals, as they beat the Pirates earlier in the night. That means St. Louis is still seven games back and the rest of the NL Central is at least 12 1/2 back.

There is no doubt owner Mark Attanasio will reach his goal of three million fans at Miller Park this year after another sold out crowd.

Zack Greinke is now 9-0 at home and is the only pitcher in the National League to win four games in the month of August. In seven innings he gave up five hits and only surrendered one earned run, a homer to Tony Gwynn Jr., which happened in the last inning he pitched. Greinke also struck out eight while walking three, and has lowered his season ERA to 3.92.

LaTroy Hawkins worked an excellent eighth for the hold, as he has taken the setup duties for Francisco Rodriguez while he rests his legs. John Axford walked one batter and struck out three on his way to a league leading 36th save. He is tied with Atlanta's Craig Kimbrel.

According to Brewers.com, this is the first time in franchise history the Brewers have allowed one run or fewer in five consecutive games. A very impressive statistic considering this team is more known for their bat than their pitching. Clearly that has all changed with the vastly improved bullpen and outstanding starting rotation.

As good as Greinke and the bullpen were, the player of the game was Jerry Hairston. He has made some exceptional defensive plays since joining the Brewers a couple weeks ago, but has yet to distinguish himself offensively. In the bottom of the sixth with the bases loaded and two outs, Hairston stepped up to the plate with the game on the line. After fighting off some great pitches, he finally came through with a single up the middle to score two runs.

The Dodgers added some insurance for the Brewers in the seventh when reliever Josh Lindblom threw a wild pitch on ball four to Craig Counsell with Jonathan Lucroy standing on third base. Lucroy raced home to score the third and final run of the game.