Brewers 3, Mets 0: Ryan Braun hit a pair of solo home runs while Wily Peralta and John Axford combined on a two-hit shutout as host Milwaukee concluded a 5-1 homestand with its 11th win in 12 contests at Miller Park.

Aramis Ramirez also went deep for the Brewers, who remained within 2.5 games of St. Louis for the second wild-card spot in the National League. The Cardinals beat the Dodgers in extra innings later Sunday.

Braun led off the fourth inning with his 200th career blast and Ramirez followed with a shot off Chris Young for a 2-0 lead. Braun, the reigning league MVP, opened the sixth with his NL-leading 40th homer, marking the first time he's reached the plateau and capping his sixth multi-homer effort of the season.

Peralta (2-0) limited the Mets to a pair of singles while walking one and striking out five over eight innings in his third career start. Axford worked around a walk in the ninth for his 29th save in 37 opportunities.

Young (4-8) yielded three runs and eight hits in 6 2/3 frames for New York, which has lost eight of nine.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Josh Thole and Andres Torres each had a hit for the Mets. ... Milwaukee 1B Corey Hart's return on Tuesday is in doubt as he felt pain while running the bases prior to Sunday's game. Hart has missed six games with plantar fasciitis of his left foot. ... The Brewers set a franchise record for single-season strikeouts when Peralta got Lucas Duda in the second inning, and the staff now has an NL-leading total of 1,261.