The St. Louis Cardinals hosted the Milwaukee Brewers today at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. The Cardinals came into the game with a record of 59-48, sitting in second place in the National League Central division, 4.5 games back of the division leading Brewers. The Brewers entered with a 64-43 record, looking to extend their division lead with a victory over their NL Central rivals.
It was a hot and humid afternoon in St. Louis, with temperatures hovering around 95 degrees Fahrenheit at first pitch. The Cardinals sent right-hander Jack Flaherty to the mound to face Brewers left-hander Gio Gonzalez. Flaherty, who has been one of the Cardinals’ most consistent starters this season, was looking to bounce back from a rough outing in his last start where he allowed 5 runs over 6 innings against the Chicago Cubs. Gonzalez, a veteran in his first season with Milwaukee, was aiming for his 10th win of the year and trying to help the Brewers gain more separation in the division standings.
The Brewers jumped out to an early lead in the top of the 1st inning. Lorenzo Cain led off with a single and then stole second base. Christian Yelich then lined a single to right field, scoring Cain from second to give Milwaukee a 1-0 advantage. Yasmani Grandal followed with a walk, but Flaherty was able to limit the damage by getting Mike Moustakas to ground into an inning-ending double play.
The Cardinals responded quickly in the bottom of the 1st. Dexter Fowler led off with a walk and then advanced to third on a Paul Goldschmidt single. Marcell Ozuna then hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field, scoring Fowler all the way from first to tie the game at 1-1. Goldschmidt advanced to second on the play. Jose Martinez followed with a single to put runners at the corners, but Gonzalez was able to get out of the inning by inducing a Kolten Wong groundout.
The score remained tied until the top of the 3rd inning. Ryan Braun led off with a single and then Eric Thames drew a walk. Manny Pina, batting in the pitcher’s spot with Gonzalez due up next, came through with a clutch two-out, two-run double down the left field line to give Milwaukee a 3-1 lead. Gonzalez was then intentionally walked to load the bases, but Flaherty struck out Cain looking to end the threat.
The Cardinals cut into the Brewers lead in the bottom of the 3th. Wong led off with a single and then advanced to second on a Flaherty sacrifice bunt. Fowler followed with an RBI single to score Wong and make it a 3-2 game. Goldschmidt then walked to put two runners on, but Gonzalez was able to induce an Ozuna groundout to leave the runners stranded.
Milwaukee added an insurance run in the top of the 5th. Yelich led off with a single and then Grandal walked. Moustakas followed with a sharp ground ball up the middle that deflected off Flaherty’s glove for an infield single, loading the bases with nobody out. Braun then hit a sacrifice fly to deep left field, scoring Yelich to make it a 4-2 Brewers lead. Thames struck out looking for the first out, but Pina came through again with a clutch RBI single to score Grandal and extend the Milwaukee lead to 5-2. Gonzalez helped his own cause with a sacrifice bunt to move the runners over, but Cain struck out looking to end the inning.
The Cardinals threatened in the bottom of the 5th, putting two runners on with one out against Gonzalez. But the veteran lefty was able to work out of trouble by getting Ozuna to ground into an inning-ending double play. Gonzalez’s day was done after 5 strong innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits while striking out 4.
Milwaukee added an insurance run against Flaherty in the top of the 6th. Grandal led off with a single and then Moustakas walked. Braun followed by lining a single to left field to load the bases with nobody out. Thames was then hit by a pitch, forcing in Grandal and making it a 6-2 Brewers lead. Cardinals manager Mike Shildt had seen enough, pulling Flaherty at that point. Flaherty’s final line was 5.1 innings pitched, allowing 6 runs (5 earned) on 9 hits while striking out 3 with 2 walks.
John Gant came on in relief and was greeted rudely by Pina, who cleared the bases with a bases-clearing double to left center field. Pina’s third big hit of the day gave Milwaukee a commanding 9-2 lead. Gant was able to settle down after that, getting Cain to ground out to end the inning.
The Cardinals tried to chip away at the big Brewers lead in the bottom of the 6th. Ozuna led off with a single and then Martinez doubled to put two runners in scoring position with nobody out. Wong came through with an RBI groundout to score Ozuna and make it 9-3. But reliever Junior Guerra struck out both Fowler and Goldschmidt swinging to end the threat.
Milwaukee added an insurance run against Gant in the top of the 7th. Grandal led off with a single and then Moustakas walked. Braun grounded into a fielder’s choice, but Grandal was able to advance to third on the play. Thames then lifted a sacrifice fly to deep center, scoring Grandal and pushing the Brewers lead to 10-3.
The Cardinals continued to fight in the bottom of the 7th against Guerra. Matt Carpenter pinch hit for Gant and drew a walk. Ozuna followed by crushing a two-run homer to deep left field, cutting the Brewers lead to 10-5. But Guerra was able to get out of the inning by getting Martinez to fly out.
Milwaukee added an insurance run in the top of the 8th against John Brebbia. Cain led off with a single and then stole second base. Yelich was intentionally walked with one out. Grandal came through with an RBI single through the right side, scoring Cain and making it an 11-5 Brewers lead.
The Cardinals made one final push in the bottom of the 8th against reliever Alex Claudio. Fowler led off with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Goldschmidt walked to put two on with nobody out. But Claudio was able to work out of trouble, striking out Ozuna and getting Martinez and Wong to fly out to end the threat.
Josh Hader, the Brewers’ dominant closer, pitched a perfect 9th inning to seal an 11-5 Milwaukee victory. The Brewers extended their division lead to 6.5 games over the second place Cardinals with the win. Yelich led the Milwaukee offense, going 3-for-5 with 2 runs scored. Pina was a perfect 3-for-3 with 4 RBI in a pinch hitting role. Gonzalez earned his 10th win, allowing 2 runs over 5 innings of work. Flaherty took the loss for St. Louis, lasting just 5.1 innings while giving up 6 runs. Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a homer and 3 RBI for the Cardinals in the losing effort.
With the victory, the Brewers increased their division lead and looked primed to make a run toward their first NL Central title since 2011. The Cardinals saw their playoff hopes take a hit with the loss and big deficit in the standings. They’ll look to bounce back in the final game of the series tomorrow and try to gain some ground on their rivals from Milwaukee.
