Brewers lose opener against Cardinals, 3-1

Box Score

The Brewers couldn’t put enough runs across to beat the Cardinals in the opener after sweeping the Rays earlier in the week. Eric Lauer got the start for Milwaukee against Jordan Montgomery for St. Louis. This series carries even more importance as Milwaukee is facing the division leaders, and is hoping to climb back into the top spot.

The Cardinals struck early in the first inning after Dylan Carlson drew a leadoff walk. Lauer was able to strike out Tyler O’Neill, but Paul Goldschmidt hit a booming blast that brought Carlson home with him. After one, St. Louis had a 2-0 lead.

Lauer and Montgomery would both pitch cleanly all the way until the sixth, when Nolan Arenado led off with a solo home run, giving the Cardinals more insurance and a three-run lead. Montgomery was pulled for Andre Pallante in the top of the seventh, and Luis Urias immediately hit a lead-off triple. Victor Caratini then brought him home with a base hit to left, making the score 3-1.

The Brewers were unable to get anything going offensively in either of the last two innings, and the Cardinals got the victory. Lauer had a quality outing, only giving up three runs in six innings, but the offense couldn’t provide him with any sort of support throughout the game.

Caratini was the lone bright spot on offense for Milwaukee, going 3-for-4 and accounting for the only Brewer RBI on the night.

Milwaukee will play game two of the three-game series on Saturday, as Corbin Burnes takes the hill against Adam Wainwright. The Brewers will finish their series against the Cardinals on Sunday before traveling home to host the Dodgers on Monday for a four-game series. The first pitch for Saturday’s matchup is at 6:15 CDT on Bally Sports Wisconsin and 620 WTMJ.