Cardinals Drop Two as Brewers Tighten Grip on NL Central
The Cardinal Chronicle
Cardinals Drop Both Ends of Doubleheader as Brewers Tighten Grip on NL Central
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
The St. Louis Cardinals entered Tuesday’s doubleheader against Milwaukee needing to slow down the Brewers and make a dent in the National League Central race.
Instead, Milwaukee walked out of Busch Stadium with two wins, a stronger hold on first place, and another reminder that the road through the division still runs through the Brewers.
Milwaukee took the opener, 4-3, then broke open the nightcap with a seven-run seventh inning on the way to a 10-2 win. The sweep dropped the Cardinals to 47-43, while Milwaukee improved to 58-33 and stretched its division lead over St. Louis to 10.5 games.
Game 1: Brewers 4, Cardinals 3
The Cardinals struck first in the opener when Jordan Walker launched a two-run homer in the first inning, scoring JJ Wetherholt and giving St. Louis a quick 2-0 lead.
Milwaukee answered in the third. Joey Ortiz doubled home Cooper Pratt, and Christian Yelich followed with an RBI single to tie the game at 2. The Cardinals briefly grabbed the lead back in the bottom half when Iván Herrera homered to left, making it 3-2.
That was the last run St. Louis would score.
Garrett Mitchell tied the game with an RBI single in the sixth, and Yelich delivered the deciding blow in the seventh with an RBI double that scored Pratt and put Milwaukee ahead 4-3.
Jacob Misiorowski gave the Cardinals fits, striking out 11 over seven innings. He allowed three runs on three hits, did not walk a batter, and threw 103 pitches. Walker and Herrera both took him deep, but the Cardinals could not do enough against him after the early damage.
Matt Svanson served as the opener for St. Louis and worked a scoreless first. Bruce Zimmermann, selected from Triple-A Memphis before the game, followed with five innings, allowing three runs on six hits with two strikeouts and one walk.
Ryne Stanek took the loss after both batters he faced reached in the seventh. He also exited after rolling his ankle on an awkward play at first base, adding injury concern to an already frustrating day.
Game 2: Brewers 10, Cardinals 2
The nightcap stayed within reach for six innings before the game unraveled in a hurry.
Hunter Dobbins, serving as the Cardinals’ 27th man for the doubleheader, gave St. Louis five competitive innings. He allowed three runs on four hits, struck out four and walked three.
Milwaukee took a 1-0 lead in the third when Cooper Pratt tripled and scored on a Christian Yelich groundout. The Brewers added two more in the fifth when Luis Lara, making his major league debut, collected his first big league hit and RBI with a two-run single.
The Cardinals finally answered in the sixth. Jordan Walker singled, and Nelson Velázquez followed with a two-run homer to center, cutting Milwaukee’s lead to 3-2.
For a moment, there was life.
Then came the seventh inning.
Joey Ortiz led off with a solo homer off Jared Shuster. Brice Turang doubled in Lara. Gary Sánchez singled home two more. Jackson Chourio added an RBI single, and Pratt capped the inning with a two-run double. By the time the inning ended, Milwaukee had scored seven runs and turned a one-run game into a 10-2 runaway.
Robert Gasser handled the Cardinals for 7 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits with four strikeouts and one walk. The only real damage came on Velázquez’s two-run homer.
Walker had two of the Cardinals’ four hits in Game 2, finishing 2-for-4. Velázquez provided the only runs with his fourth home run of the season.
St. Louis used Bryan Torres on the mound for the final two innings, and the utilityman turned in two scoreless frames. That was about the only late-game bright spot.
Game Notes
The Brewers have won four straight overall and seven straight against the Cardinals.
The Cardinals have dropped four straight.
Milwaukee now leads the five-game series 3-0.
The Cardinals finished the doubleheader with seven total hits across 18 innings.
Jordan Walker homered in Game 1 and had two hits in Game 2.
Iván Herrera homered in Game 1, while Nelson Velázquez homered in Game 2.
St. Louis continues the series Wednesday night, with Michael McGreevy scheduled to start against Milwaukee left-hander Kyle Harrison.
Bottom Line
This was not just a bad doubleheader. This was a measuring-stick day, and the Cardinals came up short.
The opener was there to be taken. The nightcap was still a game entering the seventh. But Milwaukee finished innings, pressured the Cardinals’ pitching depth, and looked every bit like the team sitting atop the division.
For St. Louis, the concern is not just losing two games. It is how quickly competitive games are getting away once the bullpen door opens.
There is still baseball left before the All-Star break, but Tuesday made one thing plain: if the Cardinals want to be more than a club hanging around the edge of the race, they will have to find a way to beat Milwaukee head-to-head.
Right now, the Brewers are not just leading the division.
They are controlling it.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: AP Photo/Jeff Roberson