W: Randy Wolf (10-9)
L: Adam Wainwright (17-7)
S: Trevor Hoffman (7)
HR: None
MVP: Randy Wolf (+.448)
LVP: John Axford (-.217)
Win Expectancy Graph and Star of the Game Voting
SB Nation Coverage
Where has this Randy Wolf been all season?
Wolf was the story of the day, pitching 8.1 innings and allowing just five baserunners and one run to the Cardinals on three hits, a walk and an HBP. He struck out four and retired eleven straight batters at one point in a streak stretching from the fifth to eighth innings.
Wolf was pulled after allowing a one out double to Albert Pujols in the ninth (the only extra base hit he allowed, eventually becoming his only run) and John Axford, the day after pitching 1.2 innings to close Tuesday's game, was called upon for the final two outs.
Today, though, it wasn't meant to be for The Ax. Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder did their best to let the Cardinals back in the game defensively in the ninth, with back to back misplayed balls that were ruled doubles but could just as easily have been errors for Braun, and a two out error at first base for Fielder that allowed the second run to score. With Axford's pitch count rising, the Brewers called upon Trevor Hoffman, who struck out Brendan Ryan on three pitches to record save #598.
At the plate, Lorenzo Cain was as exciting as any Brewer has been for a long time. He doubled, stole third and scored on a George Kottaras bunt single in the fifth, then drove in a run with a triple in the seventh (his first triple as a big leaguer) and scored on Alcides Escobar's sac fly. The FS Wisconsin broadcast noted that Cain is only the second player all season to get two extra base hits off Wainwright in the same game (Vernon Wells was the other).