Thursday night when the Brewers open a four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park.

Braun left the team Thursday morning for Los Angeles Rock Ya-Sin Jersey , where he received a cryotherapy injection in his right thumb — a procedure he has undergone four times since first receiving treatment on the thumb following the 2014 season.

“It started bugging him the last couple of days so he flew out (Thursday) morning),” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “It’s something that he expects from time to time. When it starts (bothering him), we try to get in front of it and knock it out right away.”

Braun was expected to miss Milwaukee’s game Wednesday night at Pittsburgh, but Mother Nature made the point moot as rain forced cancellation of the finale of a three-game series with the Pirates.

As a result, the Brewers will take the field Thursday virtually tied with the Chicago Cubs for first place in the National League Central with the Cardinals lingering 4 1/2 games behind.

St. Louis will try to cut into that deficit behind right-hander Carlos Martinez (3-3, 2.73 ERA), who has struggled since returning from the disabled list back on June 5.

In three starts since then, Martinez is 0-1 with a 7.11 ERA. He struck out 15 while walking 18 in 12 2/3 innings — failing to get past the fifth in any of those outings — while opponents have batted .306 against him with a .908 OPS.

“He’s got to do something different, I know,” manager Mike Matheny admitted. “(Pitching coach Mike) Maddux has talked to him about getting locked in. It just looks different. We need him to be like he can be.”

Martinez was off to a strong start before the injury. He bounced back from a rough season-opening outing against the New York Mets to post a 0.99 ERA over his next seven starts. He still had a 1.77 ERA after the Minnesota Twins tagged him for four runs over five innings in a 7-1 loss on May 8 but was placed on the disabled list the next day with a strained forearm.

“Right when he got hurt http://www.coltsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-ben-banogu-jersey , he was as good as anybody in the league,” said Matheny. “We’ve just got to get him back there, that’s all.

Martinez has faced Milwaukee twice this season, dominating the Brewers in each appearance. He held them to a run over six innings in a 5-3 victory on April 10 in St. Louis and fell two outs short of a complete game shutout on April 4 at Miller Park, where he is 4-4 with a 2.36 ERA in 16 career appearances, including 10 starts.

Overall, he’s 6-4 with a 1.95 ERA in his career against Milwaukee and has held the Brewers to two runs or fewer in 10 of his last 14 starts against the Brewers.

Because of the rainout in Pittsburgh, left-hander Brent Suter (7-4, 4.30) will get an extra day of rest and start for Milwaukee on Thursday, with Junior Guerra Khari Willis Jersey , Chase Anderson and Jhoulys Chacin rounding out the series.

Suter is 1-0 with a 3.48 ERA in two starts against St. Louis this season, and 1-2 with a 4.10 ERA in eight career appearances (four starts) against the Cardinals..

The Milwaukee Brewers sent struggling star outfielder Ryan Braun to Los Angeles on Wednesday for treatment on his achy right thumb.

Braun is expected to rejoin the first-place Brewers on Thursday when they begin a four-game series at Miller Park against St. Louis.

The Brewers planned to play without Braun on Wednesday. Turns out, they didn’t have to.

The finale of Milwaukee’s three-game series against Pittsburgh was postponed by heavy downpours at PNC Park that turned hallways leading from the dugouts to the clubhouses into raging rivers.

A makeup date was not immediately announced.

Officials delayed the scheduled 7:05 p.m. start Wednesday as showers loomed. Groundskeepers took the tarp off around 8 p.m., but quickly put it back in place after another rain band moved in. The game was called after a delay of 2 hours, 1 minute.

This is the second time this season the Pirates have been forced to postpone a home game due to inclement weather. It was the 39th postponement in the majors this year, matching the total from all of last season.

The Brewers are scheduled to visit PNC Park twice more this season. The teams do have a common day off on Sept. 20 right before the Brewers begin a three-game set in Pittsburgh.

Chad Kuhl, Pittsburgh’s scheduled starter on Wednesday, will instead get the nod when the Pirates begin a four-game series against Arizona on Thursday.

There was no immediate word on if the Brewers would alter their rotation against St. Louis. Brent Suter was scheduled to start Wednesday against the Pirates, with Junior Guerra slated to take the hill on Thursday.

Brewers bullpen catcher Marcus Hanel did his best to have a little bit of fun in the monsoon. He did a series of belly flops on the tarp shortly after the game was called.

By then, Braun was already on the West Coast to have cryotherapy on his right thumb.

”It’s something that he expects from time to time Josh Allen Jersey , and when it starts, we try to get in front of it and knock it out right away,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said.

Counsell said it’s the fifth time Braun has had the procedure done over the last few years. The six-time All-Star is hitting just .236 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs this season and is mired in a 3-for-17 slump.

The Pirates announced Wednesday that third baseman Jung Ho Kang is dealing with discomfort in his left wrist while playing for Triple-A Indianapolis.

Kang, who is in the process of returning after missing the entire 2017 season following his arrest on DUI charges in South Korea, is considered ”day to day.”

The team also placed outfielder Corey Dickerson on the Family Medical Emergency List and recalled utility player Adam Frazier from Triple-A Indianapolis. The team offered no details on the reason for Dickerson’s departure, but he will be away from the club for at least three days.

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