Brewers Steal One From Cardinals With Four-Run Seventh

The Cardinal Chronicle
Brewers Steal One From Cardinals With Four-Run Seventh
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

The St. Louis Cardinals had this one lined up.

Then the seventh inning happened.

After building a 3-0 lead behind a strong outing from Dustin May, the Cardinals watched the Milwaukee Brewers steal the series opener Monday night at Busch Stadium, rallying for four runs in the seventh inning and handing St. Louis a frustrating 4-3 loss.

This was not a game the Cardinals were chasing all night.

This was a game they controlled.

That is what made it sting.

May gave the Cardinals exactly what they needed, especially after his rough start in Atlanta and the concern over his ankle. The veteran right-hander worked 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits, walking none and striking out seven. He threw 81 pitches, 55 for strikes, and looked far more like the pitcher the Cardinals hoped they were getting when they put him back on the mound.

He was sharp.

He was competitive.

He gave St. Louis every chance to take the first game of this important five-game set against the National League Central-leading Brewers.

For six innings, the Cardinals had enough.

Then the bullpen and defense gave it away.

St. Louis opened the scoring in the third inning against Brewers left-hander Shane Drohan. Pedro Pagés singled to center, JJ Wetherholt reached on an error by Brice Turang, and Jordan Walker walked to load the bases.

Nelson Velázquez then reached on a fielder’s choice, bringing Pagés home and giving the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. José Fermín followed with a single to shallow center, scoring Wetherholt and pushing the lead to 2-0.

It was not a clean offensive explosion, but it was effective.

The Cardinals put the ball in play, took advantage of a Milwaukee mistake, and cashed in enough to give May a lead.

May protected it.

The Brewers put two men aboard in the second when Jake Bauers singled and Garrett Mitchell followed with a hit to center, but May worked through the traffic. He retired the side in the third. He struck out Brice Turang, William Contreras and Bauers in order in the fourth. In the fifth, he struck out Mitchell and Sal Frelick before allowing two-out singles to Cooper Pratt and David Hamilton.

That was the end of May’s night.

Justin Bruihl entered and got Christian Yelich to ground out to second, ending the threat and preserving the shutout.

At that point, the game still belonged to St. Louis.

The Cardinals added to the lead in the sixth. Velázquez doubled to left to open the inning. Fermín moved him to third with a sacrifice bunt, and Masyn Winn brought him home with a single to left.

That made it 3-0.

Against a team like Milwaukee, that felt important.

The Brewers do not need much help. They are too good, too athletic and too opportunistic to give them extra chances. A three-run lead is not safe against them, but it is a lead a good team has to protect at home.

The Cardinals did not.

Milwaukee’s seventh inning started with Mitchell reaching on an infield single. Ryan Fernandez entered for Bruihl and immediately gave up a double to Frelick, putting runners at second and third with nobody out.

Then the inning began to unravel.

Pratt reached on Fernandez’s fielding error, loading the bases. Hamilton followed with the swing that changed the game, driving a double to deep right-center field. Mitchell and Frelick scored, cutting the Cardinals’ lead to 3-2, and Pratt moved to third.

The Brewers were back in the game.

They were not done.

Ryan Stanek entered, and Joseph Ortiz came on to run for Hamilton. Yelich walked to load the bases. Jackson Chourio followed with a fielder’s choice, with Pratt thrown out at the plate, giving the Cardinals a chance to escape with the lead.

They could not finish it.

Turang singled to left, scoring Ortiz and Yelich, and Milwaukee suddenly had a 4-3 lead.

Just like that, the game had flipped.

The Brewers did not hit a home run in the inning. They did not need one. A single, a double, an error, another double, a walk, and a two-run single were enough. It was the kind of inning that defines Milwaukee’s season and frustrates everyone else in the division.

They keep taking games that look like they should belong to somebody else.

This one should have belonged to the Cardinals.

May deserved better. The offense had done enough to put St. Louis in position. The Cardinals had a three-run lead at home in the seventh inning. Those are games that have to be finished, especially against the team they are trying to catch.

Instead, Milwaukee stole it.

The Cardinals still had chances, but the late response never came. Pagés, Wetherholt and Iván Herrera went down in order in the seventh. In the eighth, Walker struck out and Lars Nootbaar flied out to deep right, and St. Louis could not find the swing it needed to answer Milwaukee’s rally.

That was the difference.

The Cardinals finished with three runs on six hits. Fermín had two hits, including a double, and drove in a run. Velázquez doubled, scored and drove in a run. Winn singled home the Cardinals’ third run. Pagés singled and scored. Nathan Church added a hit, though he was caught stealing earlier in the game.

It was not a dead offensive night.

But it was not enough either.

The Cardinals did not hit a home run. They did not produce the knockout inning. They had a 3-0 lead, but it was built one run at a time, and once Milwaukee broke through, St. Louis could not answer back.

That has been the danger with this club.

When the Cardinals are scoring in bunches, they can look dangerous. They showed that in Atlanta. They showed that Friday at Wrigley Field. But when the game tightens late, and one inning decides the night, the margin becomes razor thin.

Monday night, that margin disappeared.

Milwaukee finished with four runs on eight hits. Mitchell had two hits and scored. Frelick doubled and scored. Hamilton delivered the two-run double. Turang delivered the two-run single. That was the Brewers’ offense in one inning, and it was enough.

The Cardinals also committed two errors. One came from Church in center earlier in the game. The bigger one came from Fernandez in the seventh, helping open the door for Milwaukee’s rally.

Those details matter.

Against a first-place club, they matter even more.

Fernandez was charged with three runs, two earned, without recording an out. Bruihl allowed one run over 1 1/3 innings. Stanek kept the inning from getting even worse by getting Contreras to ground into a double play, but the damage had already been done. Gordon Graceffo worked a scoreless eighth, but by then the Brewers had the lead and the Cardinals were the team chasing.

That is a hard loss to absorb because of the timing.

The Cardinals came home after a strong road trip, taking two of three in Atlanta and two of three at Wrigley Field. They had won five of their previous seven games and had a chance to open this five-game series with a statement against the club sitting on top of the division.

For six innings, they were making that statement.

Then the Brewers reminded everyone why they are where they are.

They do not always overpower teams. They do not always make it look clean. But they create pressure, run the bases, force mistakes and punish every loose inning. Monday night, they waited until the seventh and took the game in one swing sequence.

For the Cardinals, this one has to bother them.

Not because they were beaten start to finish.

Because they were not.

They had the starter.

They had the lead.

They had the crowd.

They had a chance to set the tone for a long series.

Instead, Milwaukee walked out with the opener.

The Cardinals will have to turn the page quickly. There is no time to sit with this one, not with a doubleheader coming Tuesday and several more games still stacked into this division set. This series is too important, and the schedule is too compressed, for one loss to linger.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: Dustin May, St. Louis Cardinals | MLB