Brewers’ Ryan Braun heating up in August

The Milwaukee Brewers‘ offense struggled in a loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, but outfielder Ryan Braun did his part.

Braun went 2-for-3 on Sunday and 4-for-7 in the series, raising his average to .290 on the season.

He’s hitting a blistering .390/.439/.661 with nine extra-base hits in 19 games this month heading into a three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Just two other hitters in the National League — Wilson Ramos of the New York Mets and Jose Iglesias of the Cincinnati Reds — have a higher average this month.

With September less than a week away the veteran slugger is closing in on one of his best single months in nearly a decade.

Braun’s .390 average would be his highest in a calendar month since August, 2010, when he hit .424/.496/.586 with 10 extra-base hits in 26 games.

NL, highest batting average since Aug. 1

As a whole, the Brewers’ offense has the NL’s fourth-highest OPS since the All-Star break at .788, which trails only the Reds (.821), Los Angeles Dodgers (.830) and Washington Nationals (.854).

Milwaukee’s magic number lately: Four.

The Brewers had scored four-plus runs in four consecutive games before falling 5-2 to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.

They went 3-1 in those games, and have now scored at least four runs 84 times this season.

In the NL, only the Atlanta Braves (92) and New York Mets (84) have reached four runs more often this season.

Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright struggled in his last outing — also against the Brewers — allowing eight hits and five runs with just two strikeouts back on Aug. 21.

Historically, however, the veteran right-hander has been effective against Milwaukee.

Wainwright allowed just one run in six innings during his first meeting with the Brewers this season, on April 24, and has a 2.48 ERA in 40 career appearances and 236 1/3 innings against Milwaukee.

Meanwhile, Brewers starter Gio Gonzales has dominated against left-handed hitters this season. Gonzalez has a major-league-leading .478 OPS against lefties in 12 appearances and 59 1/3 innings this season.

Statistics via Sportradar