(AP) -- Chris Carpenter pitched a four-hitter to record his first shutout in two years and Rafael Furcal hit a solo home run as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 2-0 on Wednesday night.
After losing the series opener on Monday, the Cardinals won the last two to move within 8½ games of the first-place Brewers in the NL Central with 19 games to play.
The Cardinals are 6½ games behind Atlanta in the wild card race with the Braves coming to St. Louis on Friday to start a three-game series.
The benches and bullpens emptied in the top of the ninth after Carpenter (9-9) struck out Nyjer Morgan.
The two had words and Morgan headed toward the mound before being restrained by teammate Prince Fielder. No punches were thrown and Morgan was ejected.
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