Brewers 2, Pirates 0
PITTSBURGH -- Jimmy Nelson pitched six strong innings and combined with three relievers on a five-hit shutout as the Milwaukee Brewers blanked the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0 on a soggy Monday night.
Nelson (3-6) gave up four hits in six innings as he won for just the second time in his last 11 starts. The right-hander had six strikeouts and four walks after giving up 11 runs in 11 innings over his previous two starts.
Two of Nelson's three wins have come against the Brewers.
Right-handers Jonathan Broxton, Jeremy Jeffress and Francisco Rodriguez pitched one inning each. Rodriguez notched his 11th save.
The final out was made at 12:28 a.m. ET as there were rain delays of 28 minutes in the bottom of the fourth inning and one hour and 45 minutes at the end of the seventh.
The Brewers scored their first run in the fifth when third baseman Aramis Ramirez led off with a single, moved to third on left fielder Gerardo Parra's double and scored on shortstop Jean Segura's ground out.
Right fielder Ryan Braun singled in the Brewers' other run in the eighth.
Braun, Ramirez and Parra each had two of the eight hits for the Brewers (21-37), who won for the third time in four games.
A.J. Burnett (6-2) was the tough-luck loser as he allowed only one run and five hits in seven innings with one walk and six strikeouts. Burnett had won each of his previous six starts but dropped to 2-7 lifetime against the Brewers, including 0-4 in his last five starts.
Second baseman Neil Walker had three hits, including a double, for the Pirates (31-26), who lost for just the second time in seven games. They had also won four games in a row against the Brewers.
The Pirates put runners on second and third with one out in the third and runners on first and third with none out in the fifth, but Nelson escaped the jams both times.
NOTES: Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen got the night off after feeling pain in his left knee following his last plate appearance Sunday in Atlanta. Manager Clint Hurdle said he had planned on giving McCutchen a game off during the recently completed 10-game road trip, but the four-time All-Star wanted to keep playing because he was swinging the bat so well. ... Pittsburgh OF Gregory Polanco returned to the lineup and played left field after being limited to pinch-hitting duty Sunday because of a jammed left knee. ... The Brewers will call up RHP Taylor Jungmann from Triple-A Colorado Springs prior to Tuesday night's game, and he will make his major league debut, starting against Pirates LHP Francisco Liriano (3-4, 2.34). Milwaukee's first-round draft pick in 2011, Jungmann is 2-3 with a 6.37 ERA in 11 games, including nine starts, for Colorado Springs.