The Brewers picked up another win in the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader in St. Louis, as Jacob Misiorowski struck out 11 across seven innings and Christian Yelich and Joey Ortiz each came up with three-hit days in a 4-3 victory over the Cardinals.
After Matt Svanson worked around a leadoff ground-rule double by Yelich in the first, the Cardinals immediately came up swinging against Misiorowski. JJ Wetherholt took a hit by pitch on Miz’s second pitch of the day, and he then advanced
on a groundout. Two batters later, Jordan Walker crushed a first-pitch cutter from Misiorowski for a two-run homer, putting St. Louis out to a 2-0 lead. Lars Nootbaar followed with a double on a misplay by Jackson Chourio in left, but Miz stranded him there.
Both teams traded 1-2-3 innings in the second before the Brewers broke through against left-hander Bruce Zimmermann in the third. Zimmermann, who made a spot start for Milwaukee against the Padres last September, walked Cooper Pratt before allowing a run-scoring double to Ortiz. Yelich followed with a single to bring Ortiz in, and it was quickly knotted at 2-2, though Chourio followed with a double play and Brice Turang went down swinging.
The 2-2 tie wouldn’t last long, though, as Iván Herrera hit a one-out solo homer in the bottom of the fourth, Miz’s second homer allowed in the game and fourth in his last two starts.
After those few shaky moments from Miz in the first three innings, he settled in nicely. He allowed no more baserunners through the seventh inning, setting down the last 14 in a row after the Herrera homer. He finished the day with seven innings pitched, allowing three runs on three hits and no walks while striking out 11.
In a 3-2 hole, Milwaukee threatened with two more baserunners on a Jake Bauers double and a Garrett Mitchell single in the fourth, but they couldn’t cash either in. They then went down in order in the fifth.
After a pair of outs to begin the sixth, Bauers slugged his second double of the afternoon and then came around to score on Mitchell’s second single. The play at home was close, but the call was confirmed upon review after a St. Louis challenge.
A brand-new ballgame entering the seventh, the Brewers forced a pitching change, with Ryne Stanek taking over for Zimmermann. He allowed a walk and a bunt single before being removed due to a scary injury, as he slid into first in an effort to get Ortiz out on the bunt. Hopefully he’s alright.
JoJo Romero entered in relief of Stanek and promptly gave up a double to Yelich, which gave Milwaukee a 4-3 lead and put runners at second and third with no outs. Looking for some insurance, the Brewers couldn’t cash in, with Chourio grounding out, Turang striking out, William Contreras reaching on an intentional walk, and pinch-hitter Andrew Vaughn grounding out to end the inning.
Justin Bruihl set Milwaukee down in order in the eighth, and Aaron Ashby took the ball from Misiorowski for the bottom of the inning. After recording the first two outs without a problem, he gave up a pair of singles to Wetherholt and Herrera, putting runners at the corners with Alec Burleson at the plate. Burleson mercifully grounded out, keeping Milwaukee’s lead at 4-3 entering the final inning.
The Brewers, still looking for an insurance run, threatened against Bruihl in the ninth, with Ortiz singling and moving up on a passed ball and groundout. Turang also walked and stole second (without a throw), but Contreras grounded out to end the threat.
After Trevor Megill got his 14th save yesterday, it was Abner Uribe out of the bullpen for this one. He retired Walker on a pop-up but then fell behind Nootbaar, ultimately walking the veteran outfielder. Nootbaar was promptly replaced with the fleet-footed Masyn Winn, but Uribe bounced back with a strikeout of Bryan Torres and a groundout by Nathan Church, picking up his sixth save of the year.
While the Brewers finished with 10 hits, they came from just four players, as Yelich, Ortiz, Bauers, and Mitchell each had multi-hit days — Yelich had two doubles and a single, Ortiz had a double and two singles, Bauers had a pair of doubles, and Mitchell had two singles. Yelich added two RBIs, while Mitchell and Ortiz had one each. As a team, the Brewers went 4-for-16 with runners in scoring position, which was just enough to get the win.
The Brewers are back at it this evening for the second half of their doubleheader, with both team’s 27th man getting the start — Robert Gasser for Milwaukee and Hunter Dobbins for St. Louis. First pitch for that one is set for 6:45 p.m. See you then.
