Despite late rally, Brewers fall to Cardinals, 2-1

Adrian Houser was able to keep the Cardinal bats at bay, giving up just one run on four hits in 5.2 innings of work. He was rewarded with no run support, however, and an eighth-inning Victor Caratini home run wasn’t enough as the Brewers lost another to the Cardinals, 2-1

Houser did a good job early of forcing ground balls. The first saw Tyler O’Neill ground into an inning-ending double play. All three outs in the second were via the ground ball variety and in total, seven of the first 10 Cardinal outs were on groundouts.

In the fourth, following a Paul Goldschmidt groundout to Willy Adames, O’Neill and Nolan Arenado drew back-to-back walks. After a Corey Dickerson flyout, Paul DeJong roped a double down the left-field line, driving in O’Neill and giving the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.

Houser got back on track, striking out the next four he faced. Houser eventually got the hook in the sixth. His final line was 5.2 innings pitched, one earned run, four strikeouts and three walks.

The Brewers’ struggles at the plate continued. Entering Saturday, the Brewers ranked 26th in runs scored and 29th in AB/HR. In the first, a Renfroe two-out double gave them an early chance to get on the board, but Hiura lined out to end the threat. It wouldn’t be until the sixth that a Brewer would be in scoring position again, after an Andrew McCutchen single and a stolen base gave the Crew a chance to tie the game. Renfroe then struck out, ending the threat.

Steven Matz was able to get ahead early in the count for the Cardinals, as 11 of 20 first pitches were strikes. The Brewers could just manage three hits against Matz in 5.2 innings pitched, and Matz totaled six strikeouts and no walks.

Following a top-of-the-eighth that saw the Cardinals tack on another run to make it 2-0, Victor Caratini got his first home run as a Brewer. The 377-foot shot to left made it a 2-1 ballgame.

In the bottom of the ninth, Willy Adames opened the inning with a single to left. With the tying run on first and no outs, Renfroe popped out to second. Rowdy Tellez then pinch-hit for Hiura but ended the game by grounding into a double play.

The Brewers will try to even the series on Sunday, as they send out Aaron Ashby for his first start of the season. On the mound for the Cardinals will be right-hander Dakota Hudson. The first pitch is at 1:10 PM and you can catch the game on Bally Sports Wisconsin and 620 WTMJ.