Brewers 6, Nationals 2: Rickie Weeks had three hits and Jonathan Lucroy drove in two runs as visiting Milwaukee kept its wild-card hopes alive.

Brandon Kintzler (3-0) earned the win and John Axford recorded his 33rd save for the Brewers, who stayed 2 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the second National League wild-card spot. The Cardinals won at Chicago 6-3 on Sunday afternoon.

Washington, which has already clinched a postseason berth, lost for the sixth time in its last nine games. The Nationals’ magic number to clinch the NL East title remained at six with Atlanta beating Philadelphia 2-1 on Sunday.

The Brewers broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the seventh when they scored three runs on four hits and a walk. Washington right fielder Jayson Werth lost Carlos Gomez’s fly ball in the sun during the inning, allowing a run to score.

Yovani Gallardo, who allowed two runs over five innings, extended his streak of undefeated starts to 11 and took over the major league lead with 26 quality starts. Milwaukee outhit Washington 15-7 and improved to 25-7 over its last 32 games.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Brewers 3B Aramis Ramirez hit two doubles, and his 49 this season are four away from tying the franchise record. …Nationals starter Chien-Ming Wang gave up two runs over four innings. … Milwaukee RF Norichika Aoki went 0-for-5, snapping his 12-game hitting streak.