DEVIN WILLIAMS

Virtually nothing has gone right for the Milwaukee Brewers in thee week since they traded four-time All-Star closer Josh Hader.

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout will miss the All-Star Game because of back spasms, joining Bryce Harper on the sidelines and depriving the showcase of two of baseball’s best-known players.

Corbin Burnes pitched seven dominant innings, Tyrone Taylor hit a two-run homer and the Milwaukee Brewers regained sole possession of first place in the NL Central with a 2-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Brandon Woodruff pitched hitless ball into the sixth inning, Rowdy Tellez homered for the second straight day and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 for a three-game sweep.

Rookie of the Year winners Randy Arozarena and Yordan Álvarez and All-Star shortstop Bo Bichette were among 16 players whose contracts were renewed by their teams rather than reach negotiated agreements.

The Milwaukee Brewers will start Freddy Peralta against Atlanta Braves right-hander Ian Anderson in Game 3 of the NL Division Series.

Atlanta can clinch its fourth consecutive NL East title Thursday night with a win at home over Philadelphia, which would complete a three-game sweep of their high-stakes series.

The Cardinals’ team-record 17-game winning streak ended when Daniel Vogelbach hit a two-run homer that backed Adrian Houser and led the Milwaukee Brewers over St. Louis 4-0.

The Milwaukee Brewers clinched their second NL Central title in four years, beating the sloppy New York Mets 8-4 behind Willy Adames’s two-run homer and three RBIs.

Thairo Estrada hit a three-run homer during San Francisco’s four-run eighth inning, and the Giants beat the Brewers 5-1 to avoid a four-game sweep.

Willy Adames and Keston Hiura each hit a three-run homer during a 10-run outburst in the eighth inning that lifted the Milwaukee Brewers a 14-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

When Jimmy Rollins made his first All-Star team as a rookie with the Philadelphia Phillies 20 years ago, the percentage of Black players in the majors was 13.

Willson Contreras struck back after getting plunked again by the Brewers, hitting a two-run homer in the eighth inning as the Chicago Cubs rallied past Milwaukee 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Freeman easily won the NL MVP award Thursday, Nov. 12, topping off a trying year that saw him become so ill with COVID-19 he prayed please dont take me. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)NEW YORK – National League MVP Freddie Freeman was one of three Atlanta Braves selected to the All-MLB first team on Wednesday night. San Diego had two players on the top team: shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and third baseman Manny Machado. AL MVP José Abreu of the Chicago White Sox was the first baseman on the second team, which also included Philadelphia catcher J.T. Realmuto, Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe, Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager and Indians third baseman José Ramírez.

Seattle Mariners center fielder Kyle Lewis is the unanimous winner of the AL Rookie of the Year award, and Milwaukee Brewers reliever Devin Williams won the NL honor on Monday night. Lewis also made a couple of memorable plays in center, robbing Oakland’s Ramón Laureano of a grand slam on Sept. 14. He is the first player to win the award for Seattle since Ichiro Suzuki in 2001. Lewis batted just .147 in September, and Robert hit .136 with 32 strikeouts in 23 games in the final month. Williams teamed with closer Josh Hader to form a shutdown tandem at the back end of the Brewers’ bullpen.

(AP Photo/Eric Gay)Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts could become the second player to win the MVP award in each league, and New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom is in the running for his third consecutive NL Cy Young Award. Betts, Freddie Freeman and Manny Machado are the top finishers for NL MVP in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. DeGrom, Trevor Bauer and Yu Darvish are the finalists in the NL Cy Young race. Betts, who won the 2018 AL MVP award with Boston, helped the Dodgers win the World Series last week for the first time since 1988. Frank Robinson is the only player to win the MVP award in both leagues, accomplishing the feat in 1961 with Cincinnati and 1966 for Baltimore.

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw, left, high-fives Justin Turner after the team's 3-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 2 of a National League wild-card baseball series Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)LOS ANGELES – Beat up in the postseason over the years, Clayton Kershaw orchestrated one of his best performances against the weakened Milwaukee Brewers. Kershaw struck out 13 while delivering eight innings of three-hit ball, Mookie Betts hit a two-out, two-run double in the fifth, and the Los Angeles Dodgers won 3-0 to sweep their NL wild-card series on Thursday night. Only two of the Dodgers' nine hitters didn't strike out during that span; five of the Brewers didn't. That's where the NL Division Series and NL Championship Series will be contested, as well as the first neutral site World Series.

The Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of a National League wild-card baseball series Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers' powerful lineup went mostly quiet against the Milwaukee Brewers. Mookie Betts had two hits and an RBI and Corey Seager homered in the Dodgers' 4-2 victory in the opener of their NL playoff Wednesday night. The eight-time NL West champion Dodgers capitalized early in a bullpen game for the Brewers and can wrap up the best-of-three series Thursday. “A walk is just as good as a hit sometimes, which we showed in the first inning,” Seager said.

Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts flies out to right field during the third inning of the team's baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, in Los Angeles. Welcome to the first round of the 2020 playoffs, a class with an unusual amount of homework — and precious little room for error. After the pandemic-shortened regular season was limited to regional play, seven of the eight wild-card series involve teams that haven't played any meaningful games against each other since last year. “It’s like the old days, man, when you played a team you’ve never played before. That means a lot of video and scouting work before the AL playoffs begin Tuesday and the NL postseason starts Wednesday.

Milwaukee Brewers' Eric Sogard celebrates after hitting a walk off two-run home run during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)MILWAUKEE Eric Sogard bailed out All-Star closer Josh Hader by hitting his first career walkoff home run, a two-run shot that lifted the Milwaukee Brewers over the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-6 on Saturday night. Something you probably wont see again out of Hader, kind of a fluke thing," Sogard said. Entering Saturday, the left-handed Hader was 7-for-7 in save opportunities and had not allowed a run or a hit all season. UP NEXTPirates LHP Steven Brault (0-1, 4.80 ERA) faces Brewers RHP Brandon Woodruff (2-2, 3.19 ERA) in game three of the four-game series.

Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Josh Hader signals with catcher Manny Pina (9) after a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020, in Chicago (AP Photo/Matt Marton)CHICAGO Keston Hiura and Orlando Arcia homered, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 6-5 on Sunday for their third straight win against the NL Central leaders. The Cubs struck out 53 times during the four-game set. Brewers starter Josh Lindblom also struggled, allowing five runs in five-plus innings. In the fifth, Urias led off with a triple and Arcia followed with a two-run homer to put the Brewers on top 5-3. HOMECOMINGBefore traveling to Minnesota for a three-game series beginning Tuesday night, the Brewers were planning to return home Sunday night.