PITTSBURGH -- Russell Martin swatted at Jonathan Broxtons 96 mph fastball and watched as Carlos Gomez gave chase. Griffin Canning Jersey . When the ball cleared the fence just out of Gomezs reach, the Pittsburgh Pirates catcher thumped his chest as he rounded first base after providing the latest lightning bolt in a season full of them for one of baseballs most resilient teams. "Its hard to be happier than that," Martin said. Buried in May, the Pirates are streaking toward October. Martins three-run blast off Broxton with one out in the eighth inning ignited the Pirates to a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night and gave Pittsburgh a 4 1/2-game lead in the race for the second National League wild card spot with just nine days left in the regular season. Its a spot that seemed impossible in the spring. At one point Pittsburgh trailed Milwaukee by 9 1/2 games. Now the Pirates have all the momentum. Pittsburgh has won a season-high five straight and 12 of its last 14. Mark Melancon worked a perfect ninth for his 31st save. John Holdzkom (1-0) earned the win in relief for his first major league victory. Pittsburgh spent seven innings getting overpowered by Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo, who struck out 11 before finally exiting after 112 pitches. Broxton (4-3), acquired on Aug. 31 to bolster a bullpen in anticipation of a playoff push, quickly gave it all away. Starling Marte led off the Pittsburgh eighth with an infield single. Neil Walker singled with one out to set the stage for Martin, who had two ugly check swings before taking a 1-1 pitch and sending it into the second row of seats in right-centre field for his 11th homer of the year and by far his most important. "I was trying to go down-and-away," Broxton said. "I dont know where it was. I dont watch the videos." Probably a good idea after the Brewers -- who led the NL Central for 149 days this year -- watched their playoff hopes take another devastating blow. Rickie Weeks hit his seventh homer of the season off Pirates starter Jeff Locke and Jonathan Lucroy added an RBI-single, but Milwaukee lost its third straight. The Brewers let a 2-0 lead get away late on Thursday night against St. Louis and fell in extra innings. They arrived in Pittsburgh at 4 a.m. on Friday morning hoping to revive their season against a team they have dominated for years, including an 11-5 mark this season. Now they likely need to sweep the final two games of the series to have any reasonable chance of catching Pittsburgh. "When you go to late innings, were used to putting games away," Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said. "Weve been really good all year in finishing out games, and were not doing it right now." Gallardo did his part. He escaped early trouble and then settled down, retiring nine of the final 10 batters he faced before giving way to Broxton after 112 leave-it-all-out-there pitches. The Pirates stranded six runners in the first four innings against Gallardo with nothing to show for it. Still, they remained upbeat after Gallardo tired. "Were a team that has a pretty good offence. When you have somebody that neutralizes you, its frustrating," Martin said. "But we believe in each other and we believe when we get to the bullpen we can make things happen." Ike Davis added an RBI single later in the inning off Jeremy Jeffress to give Melancon a little extra cushion he wouldnt need. TRAINERS ROOM Brewers: Milwaukee 1B Mark Reynolds was back in the lineup on Friday, going 0 for 3 less than 24 hours after a rare mental mistake opened the door to a late St. Louis rally. "This guy, instinctually, is unbelievable," Roenicke said. "Thats why when you see those things happen, its surprising. And, you know, why couldnt you do it in a game that didnt matter? Or a month ago, when maybe we were winning 6-0 in a game and you make a mistake? Its just when he made it that was so tough." Pirates: RHP Charlie Mortons return from the disabled list may be short-lived. Pittsburgh pulled Morton from his next scheduled start on Sunday after he felt discomfort in his groin and midsection late in his five innings of work in a victory over Boston on Tuesday. The pain intensified during a bullpen session on Thursday. Vance Worley will take Mortons spot in the rotation when the Pirates wrap up the series with Milwaukee. UP NEXT Brewers: Matt Garza (8-8, 3.74 ERA) will make his third start against the Pirates this season. The right-hander is 1-0 with a 6.55 ERA versus Pittsburgh. He is coming off six solid innings in a victory over Cincinnati last Sunday. Pirates: Edinson Volquez (12-7, 3.27 ERA) will search for his fifth straight victory when he faces the Brewers on Saturday. The 30-year-old is 2-1 with a 2.88 ERA in four starts against Milwaukee this season. Anthony Bemboom Jersey . The Braves optioned outfielder Jose Constanza to Triple-A Gwinnett. As expected, the Braves also called up right-hander Julio Teheran from Gwinnett to start Sundays game and optioned backup catcher J. Matt Thaiss Jersey . LOUIS -- The St.TORONTO -- Tanner Marsh didnt need any late-game heroics to win his first CFL start. The rookie quarterback threw for 309 yards and a touchdown to lead the Montreal Alouettes past the Toronto Argonauts 20-9 on Tuesday night. Marsh did a solid job of managing the game, surrendering just one interception after throwing four and losing two fumbles coming off the bench last week to rally the Als past B.C. 39-38. Marsh received plenty of help Tuesday night from a Montreal defence that held Toronto (5-4) to just one point from two impressive early drives, then forced four turnovers, including linebacker Shea Emrys 38-yard first-half fumble return for a TD. "When youre a young quarterback trying to get into a groove and you see your defence make huge stops, that gives you a lot of confidence," Marsh said. "Our defence did nothing but that, they did a great job, an amazing job. "I have to get hit a few times in order to get into and I got hit and I was into it, I just got into a groove. Its an awesome feeling winning your first start. Its a great start to a career." Marshs 57-yard completion to Eric Deslauriers set up Sean Whytes game-winning 15-yard field goal against B.C. The 23-year-old Texan finished 18-of-27 passing versus Toronto and got the better of Argos sophomore Zach Collaros before a Rogers Centre gathering of 18,863 consisting mostly of enthusiastic university students. They witnessed a contest that felt more like a pre-season game given the seven combined turnovers, 19 penalties and 18 punts. But Marshs calm demeanour impressed Alouettes veteran receiver S.J. Green, who had eight catches for 143 yards, both game highs. "Tanner came out very poised and took control of the game," he said. "He made the plays and kept us moving. "We already believed in him and its great how he showed up and played well." Montreal interim coach Jim Popp said Marshs biggest attribute is his ability to always look downfield. "He keeps his eyes upfield, thats the biggest thing and he gives us a chance," Popp said. "He gives us a chance to make plays." Collaros, Torontos starter with incumbent Ricky Ray (shoulder) out six weeks, was 21-of-32 passing for 261 yards with a TD but threw an interception and had a costly fumble. The former Cincinnati star was hurt at 9:59 of the second when taken down by an illegal Chip Cox horse-collar tackle. He was replaced briefly by Trevor Harris but returned on Torontos next possession. Montreal (4-5) doesnt have time to enjoy the win. The Alouettes host Toronto on Sunday to complete the home-and-home series. Montreal is tied with Hamilton (4-5) for second in the East Division after improving to 2-0 with veteran Anthony Calvillo (concussion) sidelined. The Argos certainly had their chances. Their best opportunity to get back into the game came late in the third when Dontrelle Inmans 10-yard catch put them at the Montreal 13-yard line. But Popp successfully challenged the play, correctly contending Inman fumbled and Alouette Byron Parker recovered. Marsh then hit Duron Carter -- the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Cris Carter -- on a 477-yard completion to end the third to set up Sean Whytes 14-yard field goal at 1:50 of the fourth for a 20-8 advantage. Tommy La Stella Angels Jersey. "That (challenge) was a big play because had they scored it wouldve been a different game," Popp said. "Im just glad we were able to get the ball and move it up the field." Toronto also opened the game with two impressive drives but only managed Noel Prefontaines single off a missed 30-yard field goal at 2:39 of the first. Prefontaine set up for a 30-yard boot on the Argos second drive but holder Harris bobbled the snap and was held short of the first down, giving Montreal possession at its own three-yard line. Collaros hit John Chiles on a 34-yard TD pass at 10:01 of the first to put Toronto ahead 8-0 but Argos head coach Scott Milanovich said the missed early chances were big. "I felt like we couldve had a much larger lead there late in the first quarter," he said. "We didnt and thats part of football games and weve got to be able to continue play. "But I felt we left some opportunities out there." Predictably, Milanovich didnt pin the loss on Collaros. "Its never all on one guy," he said. "You cant turn the ball over as many times as we did and have the penalties. "We started off decently, we werent able to finish drives. We got into a little bit of a funk and werent able to get out of it." Montreal tied the season series 1-1 as the Argonauts won the first meeting 39-13 on Aug. 8. The two teams play their regular-season finale Nov. 1 at Rogers Centre. Prefontaine booted the convert and two singles. Arland Bruce III scored Montreals other touchdown. Whyte kicked two field goals and two converts. Emrys 37-yard return of a Collaros fumble and Marshs 28-yard TD strike to Bruce in the second quarter staked the Alouettes to an unlikely 17-8 lead in a sloppy opening half of missed opportunities. Emry scored at 13:31 less than five minutes after Bruce gave Montreal its first lead of the game. "He just wants to be that guy," Bruce said of Marsh. "You can see that in the classroom, you can see that at practice. "He doesnt get flustered. If he doesnt make a play, hell stand up as a man and say, Hey, thats my fault guys, Ill get better, and thats what you want from a quarterback. I think hes going to get better." NOTES -- Astronaut Chris Hadfield performed the ceremonial opening kickoff . . . Bruces first-half TD catch was the 90th of his CFL career, making him just the sixth player to reach that lofty plateau . . . Torontos next four games are on the road. The Argos return to Rogers Centre on Oct. 4 to host Hamilton . . . . Between them, Calvillo and Ray have a combined 446 CFL starts (277 for Calvillo, 169 for Ray). Theyve also won three Grey Cups apiece . . . Cox came in leading the CFL in tackles with 62, nine ahead of Torontos Robert McCune, who was in second . . . Montreal linebacker Kyries Hebert, the clubs second-leading tackler who was tied for fifth overall with 42, was one of the four players scratched from the contest . . . Ottawa Redblack GM Marcel Desjardins was in attendance. ' ' '