Brewers rally for 6-4 win, split series against Cardinals

Box Score

After two straight losses, the Brewers needed to salvage a split to remain tied in the NL Central race after the series. They managed to do that, keeping the division race very tight.

The game didn’t start well. The second batter of the game, Nolan Gorman, singled to put a runner on base. Then came up Paul Goldschmidt. He doubled down the left-field line, but from there it turned into a disaster. The Brewers tried to throw out Gorman at the plate, but a bad throw by Willy Adames hit Gorman and he scored easily. Goldschmidt then advanced to third and Jason Alexander, backing up at the plate, tried to nab Goldschmidt, but the ball got by three different Brewers defenders to let Goldschmidt score easily. After the whole sequence, the Cardinals had a 2-0 lead just three batters into the game. Both Adames and Alexander were charged with errors on the play.

The Brewers did respond quickly, turning a Christian Yelich leadoff double into a run thanks to a couple of productive outs. That made it a 2-1 game, where it remained until the fourth inning. The Brewers loaded the bases with no outs in the third, but couldn’t bring any runs in.

In the fourth, Andrew McCutchen led off with a double and Luis Urias drew a walk. Victor Caratini followed that up with a single, and initially, Andrew McCutchen scored. However, the Cardinals challenged, and the call was overturned, as catcher Ivan Herrera just managed to get the tag on McCutchen. However, the next batter, Tyrone Taylor, made sure his runs would count as he homered to left center, putting the Brewers up 4-2.

The Cardinals wasted no time cutting into that lead, as Lars Nootbar led off the next inning with a home run to cut it to 4-3. Willy Adames responded right back with his own leadoff home run, and it was a two-run lead again at 5-3.

The Cardinals battled back again, this time manufacturing a run on a Paul Goldschimdt walk, Nolan Arenado double and Juan Yepez sacrifice fly. That ended Jason Alexander’s day, which looked a bit rough. In 5.2 innings, he allowed four runs (all earned despite the errors), six hits, two walks and five strikeouts. Brad Boxberger came in with Arenado at second, but got Dylan Carlson to strike out and end the inning.

The Cardinals tried to manufacture another run in the seventh, but Brad Boxberger worked around a single and sac bunt to keep the Cardinals off the board. Devin Williams took the eighth and sent the Cardinals down in order to hold the 5-4 lead. The Brewers then had another big scoring chance as they loaded the bases with no outs. A sacrifice fly by Jace Peterson increased the lead to 6-4, but that was all they could get.

Josh Hader finished the game for the Brewers and made sure the Cardinals wouldn’t try anything else. He pitched a 1-2-3 inning to secure the win and the series split.

Andrew McCutchen went 2-for-4 in the game, and Christian Yelich and Victor Caratini each reached base three times. The Brewers combined for eight hits and seven walks in addition to their six runs.

The Brewers continue their homestand this weekend, dipping back into interleague play. The Blue Jays come to Miller Park, second place in the AL East and in the lead in the AL Wild Card race. In game one of the series, Alex Manoah faces Adrian Houser. First pitch is at 7:10 PM.