For the second straight day, the Brewers found themselves in an early deficit. However, they weren’t able to climb out of this one despite several opportunities late in the game.
Jose Quintana started for the Brewers and had a quick first inning, needing just nine pitches to get through the top of the Cardinals’ batting order. Meanwhile, the Brewers tried to get Quintana run support right away. Sal Frelick hit a leadoff single, and Christian Yelich followed with a one-out single. However, they would
be stranded there after Isaac Collins flew out and Brice Turang grounded out to end the inning.
Unfortunately, Quintana would not be able to keep up that good start. Thomas Saggese singled to lead off the second, then Nolan Gorman doubled on the next pitch to put runners at second and third. Pedro Pagés brought in the first Cardinals’ run with a sacrifice fly (which also moved Gorman to third). Quintana then walked Jordan Walker, and José Fermín singled to drive in the Cardinals’ second run. Walker and Fermín pulled off a double-steal to move themselves to third and second, respectively.
Next up was Nathan Church, who battled Quintana in an 11-pitch at bat. It ended with a ground ball hit to Turang, but he couldn’t field it, and Church reached on an infield single. That also scored Walker and moved Fermín up, though that likely would have happened either way since the ball wasn’t hit hard enough.
Quintana continued to struggle from there as he walked Lars Nootbaar, but the Brewers caught their own break on that play. On ball four, Fermín broke from third, and Danny Jansen caught him in between third and home. After a short rundown, Fermín was tagged out, though Church advanced to third in the process. That may have saved Quintana for the moment as he struck out Iván Herrera to end the inning. That also drove Quintana’s pitch count up as he threw 41 pitches in the second inning.
Caleb Durbin tried to get a rally going right away with a leadoff double to start the sixth inning. Miles Mikolas wouldn’t let the Brewers manufacture anything, though. He struck out the next three batters he faced to end the inning with Durbin stranded at second.
The two teams traded quick third innings. Each team went down in order, with each also getting a nice defensive play in the process. Jackson Chourio made a sliding catch to take a hit away from Alec Burleson in the top of the inning. Burleson then returned the favor in the bottom of the inning. Gorman made a diving grab and threw to Burleson at first to get Chourio.
The top of the fourth was also a quick one for the Brewers as Quintana retired the Cardinals in order again. Pagés led off the inning and hit a ball right back at Quintana that ricocheted off his right foot. Turang got the ball and threw to Bauers for the out, though the trainers checked on Quintana. Walker grounded out to Monasterio for the second out. Fermín hit a ground ball to Bauers that deflected off his glove, but he got to it quickly. With Fermín not running at full intensity, he threw to Quintana covering for the out.
That would be the end of Quintana’s day at 66 pitches. He allowed the three runs in the fourth inning on four hits and two walks with two strikeouts. He may have been injured during that last play, as Todd Rosiak reported after the game that Quintana was undergoing an MRI for a calf strain suffered while covering first base.
It was almost a quick fourth for the Brewers as well, but Durbin gave the Brewers a needed boost on offense. With two outs, he hit a ball down the left field line that cleared the fence and stayed fair. It was his 11th home run of the season, and the Brewers closed the gap to 3-1.
Aaron Ashby was out of the bullpen first for the Brewers. He started strong with a strikeout of Church and a flyout from Nootbaar. The Cardinals got two baserunners from a Herrera single and Burleson walk, but Ashby struck out Saggese to end the inning. Meanwhile, Jansen finally got his first big hit as a Brewer in the bottom of the fifth. It was a no-doubt home run into the Brewers’ bullpen, closing the gap to 3-2.
The rest of the fifth was quiet as the Brewers went down in order. In the sixth, the bullpen struck out the side in the top of the inning. Ashby got the first strikeout, then gave way to Grant Anderson, who struck out the next two batters.
John King came out of the Cardinals’ bullpen to relieve Miles Mikolas after five innings. Manager Pat Murphy went into matchup mode to counter it. After Yelich grounded out to start the sixth, he brought in Andrew Vaughn to pinch-hit for Collins. That worked as Vaughn singled. The Brewers kept up the pressure with a single from Turang, putting Vaughn in scoring position. Durbin had a chance to add on another big hit, but struck out swinging for the second out. Murphy played the matchups again and brought in Blake Perkins to pinch-hit for Bauers. Cardinals’ manager Oliver Marmol countered by bringing in Jorge Alcala from the bullpen. The match went to the Cardinals, and Perkins lined out to right to end the inning.
Chad Patrick got the call for the seventh inning. After allowing a single to Fermín, he retired the rest of the Cardinals in order. Church grounded out, Nootbaar lined out, and Herrera struck out to end the inning. Alcala remained in the game for the bottom of the seventh. Jansen drew a leadoff walk, but that was it as the next three batters also went down in order.
Jared Koenig took the eighth and got through it without issue, striking out two in a clean inning of work. JoJo Romero took the eighth for the Cardinals. Vaughn responded with his second straight single, then was pulled for pinch-runner Joey Ortiz. He would be erased on a groundout from Turang, but a good slide caught Fermín off-balance and prevented the double play. That wouldn’t matter much as Durbin flew out to end the inning.
Still down one run, the Brewers went to Joel Payamps to keep it close in the ninth. The inning started off well with Ortiz making a running grab and throw to get Pagés at first. Payamps then struck out Walker, but unraveled a bit. He hit Fermín with a pitch, then walked Church and Nootbaar on eight straight balls. However, he recovered with a four-pitch strikeout of Herrera, stranding the bases loaded.
Riley O’Brien was called on for the save for the Cardinals. He started out with a strikeout of Perkins, then got Jansen to ground out. Monasterio kept the game going by working a full count and drawing a walk. However, Frelick struck out to end the game.
The Brewers out-hit the Cardinals eight to six, but the Cardinals had more baserunners thanks to five walks and a hit by pitch (compared to the Brewers’ two walks). Durbin and Vaughn led the day with two-hit performances. Durbin and Jansen were responsible for the Brewers’ two runs with a solo home run each. Once again, the story was runners in scoring position, with the Brewers going 0-for-7 in those scoring opportunities.
Despite the loss, the Brewers didn’t lose any ground to the Phillies in the race for the top seed in the National League. The Phillies lost to the Royals 10-3 earlier today, breaking their six-game winning streak. However, the Cubs won 4-3 over the Rays, keeping the magic number for the NL Central at eight.
The Brewers will get some extra rest tomorrow with their second off-day in five days. They will be doing some scoreboard watching as the Cubs travel to the Pirates and the Phillies face the Dodgers in a potential NLDS preview. On Tuesday, the Brewers will open their own series against the Los Angeles Angels at American Family Field. Freddy Peralta will look to bounce back from his first bad start in over a month. He will face Caden Dana of the Angels. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. CT on FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and the Brewers Radio Network.
