The Pittsburgh Pirates were blown out by the Milwaukee Brewers in the rubber match of their three-game series Sunday, 7-0, dropping their fifth game in their last six and falling two games back of the Braves — who play Sunday night — in the wild card race.

The Bucs were held to just five hits and five walks, and left 12 men on base, but the real loser of the game was Erik Bedard, who was shelled again, allowing six runs in 4.2 innings, including a three-run home run to Carlos Gomez and a two-run shot to Aramis Ramirez that chased him from the game. Bedard's ERA went past five for the season -- another symptom of what's plagued the Pirates this month.

Up next is a pivotal three-game series against the Cardinals at PNC Park, starting Monday night. The Cardinals are now two games ahead of the Pirates, so a series win for the Bucs would go a long way toward their chances of grabbing one of the two wild card spots for the playoffs.

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