MIAMI (AP) — Ryan Braun honored injured teammate Christian Yelich the past two days by wearing his No. 22 jersey underneath his own. Braun then put on a Yelich-like performance Thursday, hitting a two-run homer that helped the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Miami Marlins 3-2 to complete a four-game sweep that extended their winning streak to seven. “I threw up the double deuces for him,” Braun said of his message to Yelich as he crossed home plate. “He texted me, “It’s about time you hit a homer.’ Forty-fifth homer hit in this jersey this year.” Milwaukee matched its longest winning streak of the season to remain tied with the Chicago Cubs for the second NL wild card. At 78-68, the Brewers are 10 games over .500 for the first time since mid-June. “What’s within our picture is keep playing well,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “The other stuff doesn’t matter right now. Keep playing like the past week we’re going to put ourselves in a good spot.” Yelich broke his right kneecap on a foul ball Tuesday night. Before the game, the Brewers said the reigning NL MVP won’t need surgery, but is done for the year. Yelich hit .329 with 44 homers and 97 RBIs this season and also stole 30 bases. He was leading the majors in slugging percentage and OPS when he was hurt. Braun, bothered by a bad back for much of the season, broke a 1-all tie in the third with a two-run homer off Caleb Smith (8-10). It was Braun’s 19th home run this season and the first of his career at Marlins Park.
