Milwaukee 4, Houston 0

Shaun Marcum took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and Ryan Braun belted his 26th home run as the visiting Milwaukee Brewers completed a three-game sweep of the Houston Astros with a 4-0 victory on Sunday afternoon.

Jonathan Lucroy added a solo blast for the Brewers, who outscored the Astros 20-4 in the series. Milwaukee increased its National League Central lead to 9 1/2 games over the St. Louis Cardinals, who dropped a 3-2 decision to the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.

Marcum (12-5) did not surrender a hit until Jordan Schafer singled with one out in the sixth and would not yield another in his seven-inning outing. The veteran righthander struck out eight and walked one in snapping a two-start losing streak.

Braun finished with three hits and three RBIs, moving into first place in the NL in batting average at .335. The New York Mets’ Jose Reyes is second at .333.

Making a convincing case for the NL MVP as well, Braun hit a solo homer off Wandy Rodriguez (10-10) in the first, drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth and hit an RBI single in them seventh - his 94th RBI of the season.

The Astros (47-93) are within four setbacks of tying the franchise record of 97 losses.

• Houston will play their next game on the road against Pittsburgh. The Astros have a W/L % of .340 after a win and .333 after a loss.
• Milwaukee will play their next game on the road against St. Louis. The Brewers have a W/L % of .595 after a win and .596 after a loss.