The Brewers got a quality start from Shane Drohan and, paired with a four-run seventh inning, were able to sneak away with a series-opening victory in St. Louis on Monday night, moving them to a season-high 23 games over .500 at 56-33.
After Dustin May set the Brewers down in order in the first, Drohan got through his half of the inning with a two-out walk to Jordan Walker but nothing else.
Milwaukee picked up a pair of one-out singles from Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell, with both advancing
on an error by center fielder Nathan Church to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Unfortunately, the Crew couldn’t cash in, as Sal Frelick went down looking (and lost a challenge while doing it) before Cooper Pratt hit a liner right at JJ Wetherholt at second.
Drohan worked around another baserunner in the bottom of the inning, giving up a double to José Fermín but stranding him at third with a pop out and a pair of groundouts.
After the Brewers had another 1-2-3 inning in the third, the Cardinals put together an offensive threat in the bottom half. Pedro Pagés singled and Wetherholt reached on a misplay by Brice Turang, but Drohan bounced back to induce a pop-up from Iván Herrera. He then walked Walker for the second time on the night, loading the bases with one out for Nelson Velázquez.
Velázquez hit a chopper to David Hamilton at third, and the Brewers were able to get the out at second but were unable to turn two, allowing St. Louis to take a 1-0 lead. Fermín followed with his second hit of the night, bringing another run in for a 2-0 advantage.
With runners still at the corners for Masyn Winn, Fermín got into a rundown between first and second, and Velázquez was caught off third base for the third out. After review, however, the call was overturned, and runners remained at the corners. It wouldn’t matter, though, as Winn struck out to end the rally.
May continued rolling in the fourth, setting the heart of the Brewer lineup down in order. Drohan had a nice bounce-back inning in the fourth, allowing a leadoff single before the runner was caught stealing and a pair of groundouts for a roundabout 1-2-3, 10-pitch inning.
The Brewers got a pair of runners at the corners in the fifth, and that marked the end of May’s day, as Justin Bruihl entered in relief. He got a groundout from Yelich, and the Cardinals held their 2-0 lead at the halfway point.
Drohan worked another quick inning in the fifth, getting Wetherholt, Herrera, and Walker on just six pitches. Thanks to those two quick innings, he got another frame in the sixth, though he allowed St. Louis’ third run on a Velázquez double, sac bunt, and Winn RBI single to make it 3-0.
The Brewers, in a late hole, finally broke through in the seventh.
With Bruihl still on the mound, Mitchell started things with an infield single, as Bruihl came up grimacing after the play and exited to make way for Ryan Fernandez. The right-hander did not fare well, allowing a ground-rule double to Frelick before Pratt reached on a fielding error by Fernandez, loading the bases with no outs for Hamilton.
Hamilton, who quickly fell behind 0-2, worked his way back to a full count before lining the eighth pitch of the at-bat into the right-center gap, scoring both Mitchell and Frelick while moving the tying run in Pratt to third and the winning run into scoring position. Oliver Marmol replaced Fernandez with Ryne Stanek, while Joey Ortiz took Hamilton’s place at second base after the double, as Hamilton came up grimacing. It was later reported he exited with left hamstring tightness, so something to monitor in the coming days leading into the All-Star break — hopefully nothing too serious.
Yelich drew a walk against Stanek, and Chourio followed with a groundball that allowed the Cardinals to get the out at the plate, keeping the bases loaded but also giving St. Louis an out. That wouldn’t matter, though, as Turang looped the first pitch he saw into left field for a two-run single, flipping the scoreboard to 4-3 Brewers.
While the Brewers couldn’t do anything else offensively, Chad Patrick took over for Drohan in the seventh and worked a pair of perfect innings, including two outs. Trevor Megill then took the ninth and shut things down, working around a leadoff single by Winn to pick up his 14th save of the year.
Drohan worked six innings, though it may not have been the prettiest start. Due to Turang’s error in the third, though, just one of his three runs allowed was earned, as he allowed six hits and two walks while striking out a pair. He also lowered his ERA to 2.97 for the year.
Offensively, Hamilton and Turang led the way with two RBIs each, and Hamilton was also one of two players to pick up a pair of hits (the other being Mitchell, who had two singles and a walk). The Brewers went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position, and they made those hits count in this one.
The Brewers are back at it tomorrow, as they’ll play two. Jacob Misiorowski is set to get the ball in the first game, with the Cardinals’ starter listed as TBD. Neither team has announced a starter for game two, though it’s expected to be Robert Gasser for the Brewers and some combo of Hunter Dobbins and Michael McGreevy for St. Louis in the doubleheader. First pitch of the first game is slated for 1:15 p.m., with the second game currently scheduled for 6:45 p.m.
