Pirates 1, Brewers 0: Vance Worley tossed eight strong innings and Russell Martin’s single in the seventh inning drove in the game’s only run as host Pittsburgh took the rubber match of a three-game set from Milwaukee.

Worley (8-4) allowed only four singles and did not walk a batter while striking out five for the Pirates, who dealt a crushing blow to the Brewers’ dwindling postseason hopes with their 13th win in their last 16 contests. Andrew McCutchen singled and scored as Pittsburgh stretched its lead in the race for the National League’s second wild card to 4 ½ games over Milwaukee with six days left in the regular season.

Carlos Gomez led off the ninth with a single off Tony Watson to account for one of the Brewers’ six hits, but was stranded in scoring position as Milwaukee dropped to 7-13 in September and fell to 2-14 in its last 16 road contests. Wily Peralta (16-11) took the hard-luck loss, giving up one run on five hits and three walks in seven frames.

Worley allowed only one runner past first base in his first seven frames as he got a double play in the second and stranded Jean Segura on second in the next inning before setting down 17 of his final 18 batters. Peralta left runners on the corners with two outs in the third, but got a double play of his own in the fourth and retired seven in a row thereafter to get through six innings unscathed.

Pittsburgh, which scored all four of its runs in the eighth inning of its series-opening win on Friday, snapped its 15-inning scoreless streak in the seventh on Sunday when McCutchen reached on an infield single, moved to third following a passed ball and wild pitch before scoring on Martin’s line drive up the middle. Watson plucked Aramis Ramirez with a two-out pitch, but notched his third career save when Ryan Braun flied to center.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Milwaukee won the season series 12-7. … Martin, who went 1-for-3, is batting .356 with three homers and 15 RBIs during a season-high 12-game hitting streak. … Pittsburgh will embark on a regular season-ending seven-game road trip on Monday when it plays the first of four in Atlanta while Milwaukee wraps up its nine-game road trip with a three-game set in Cincinnati beginning on Tuesday.