What We Learned: Brewers get two comeback wins against Cardinals

This Weekend's Results

Brewers 4, Cardinals 3 (Box Score)

The Brewers ended up facing the Cardinals bullpen for almost the entire game after Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez left after two batters with a shoulder injury. The Cardinals struck first on a Matt Carpenter single, but the Brewers tied in on a wild pitch by Tyler Lyons, scoring Logan Schafer. The Cardinals retook the lead with two runs in the fourth, but a Jonathan Lucroy pinch-hit RBI single in the sixth and a fielding error by Cardinals second baseman Greg Garcia in the seventh allowed the Brewers to tie the game. Then, in the ninth, Khris Davis hit a solo home run off of Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal to put the Brewers up by one, and Francisco Rodriguez closed it out for the win.

Cardinals 5, Brewers 1 (Box Score)

The majors haven't been kind to Tyler Wagner in his first two starts, but it's not completely unexpected, considering he is coming up from Double-A. He allowed five runs in four innings, allowing six hits and four walks with no strikeouts. Meanwhile, the Brewers couldn't get to Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia, who allowed only one run in eight innings. Jonathan Lucroy, making his first start in over two weeks, went 3-for-4 with an RBI in the loss.

Brewers 8, Cardinals 4 (Box Score)

It looked like Sunday would be a repeat of Saturday's game. John Lackey pitched seven strong innings for the Cardinals, allowing just one run. Meanwhile, the Brewers used five pitchers in the first eight innings, allowing a total of three runs. With the Brewers trailing 3-1 in the ninth and facing Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal, the Brewers chances were bleak. However, they started the inning with a Shane Peterson single, a Martin Maldonado hit by pitch, and a Jonathan Lucroy walk to load the bases. Jason Rogers followed them with a grand slam to give the Brewers a 5-3 lead. The Brewers weren't done there, though. After Trevor Rosenthal was replaced, the Brewers got two more baserunners with Logan Schafer and Adam Lind, and Khris Davis followed them with a three-run home run to increase the lead to 8-3. Will Smith came in to pitch the ninth, but the Cardinals got a run with two hits and a fielding error. Francisco Rodriguez came in, threw two pitches and got the save for the Brewers.

Brewers News & Notes

• Following a start on Saturday, the Brewers decided to shut down Ryan Braun for the rest of the season. Braun is heading for surgery this offseason to fix a herniated disc, and it had become clear that he couldn't play through it any longer. Assuming the injury is no worse than before, it is expected to be a quick recovery and he should be ready for spring training.
• New GM David Stearns doesn't officially take over the role until next Monday, but he is still making preparations for when he does take over next week. Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com reports that Stearns will meet with the players for the first time while they are in San Diego.
• The series split in the Cardinals series ended up hurting the Brewers a little in their chances for a better draft pick. Over on Disciples of Uecker, Nicholas Zettel looks at the current tanking standings, along with the implications of what a higher or lower finish means.
• Jason Rogers hit a grand slam in Sunday's game, but hasn't been getting much opportunity to prove himself in the last month of the season. Over on BP Milwaukee, Derek Harvey argues that Jason Rogers should get more starts in the last week of the season.
• Also on BP Milwaukee, Julien Assouline looks at the story of Nevin Ashley and how tough it was for him to finally get to the majors this season.
• Over in the FanPosts, with the Brewers facing some 40-man roster decisions this offseason, jorgejuliomachado makes his predictions on who will be retained on the 40-man roster and who will be gone.

Minor League Update

• Marcus Young of Miller Park Prospects reviews the season of the AZL Brewers.

NL Central Update

• Pirates @ Cubs
  Friday: Pirates 3, Cubs 2
  Saturday: Pirates 4, Cubs 0
  Sunday: Cubs 4, Pirates 0
• Mets @ Reds
  Friday: Mets 12, Reds 5
  Saturday: Mets 10, Reds 2
  Sunday: Mets 8, Reds 1

Today's Division Games

• Reds (Brandon Finnegan) @ Nationals (Max Scherzer) - 2:05 pm
• Cardinals (Lance Lynn) @ Pirates (J.A. Happ) - 6:05 pm
• Royals (Yordano Ventura) @ Cubs (Kyle Hendricks) - 7:05 pm

Around Baseball

• The Cardinals have shut down starting pitcher Carlos Martinez for the remainder of the season with a shoulder strain.
• Nationals reliever Jonathan Papelbon has been suspended for three games for throwing a pitch at the head of Orioles player Manny Machado.
• The Red Sox have hired former Braves GM Frank Wren as their senior vice president of baseball operations.
• The Reds claimed outfielder Tyler Holt off of waivers from the Indians.
• The Blue Jays clinched a playoff berth over the weekend, ending the longest active playoff drought in the majors. The new longest active streak belongs to Seattle, who hasn't made the playoffs since 2001.
• The Cubs have clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2008. Four of the five playoff spots in the National League have been claimed, with the NL West the only spot not clinched (though is basically a lock for the Dodgers).

Today's Action

The Brewers have their final off-day of the season before their final road series begins tomorrow in San Diego.