Cardinals 5, Brewers 2: Flaherty dominates Brewers' hitters again and Cards creep closer
ST. LOUIS – Once again, the Milwaukee Brewers had no answer for Jack Flaherty.
The St. Louis right-hander continued his season-long domination of the Brewers with six shutout innings Friday night at Busch Stadium as the hard-charging Cardinals held on for a 5-2 victory in the series opener.
The Brewers were looking to cool off the Cardinals but instead they won for the 12th time in 15 games to go 20-10 under interim manager Mike Shildt. St. Louis moved a half-game behind the sagging Brewers in the National League Central and wild-card races.
The Brewers, who lost for the ninth time in 14 games this month, fell a game behind the Philadelphia Phillies, who lead the up-for-grabs wild-card race.
Flaherty lowered his earned run average to 1.00 in three starts against the Brewers this season. In 18 innings, he has allowed 10 hits and two runs with 29 strikeouts.
The first inning has been the Achilles' heel of Brewers rookie pitcher Freddy Peralta and that trend continued as St. Louis jumped out to a 2-0 lead. It started with a one-out walk to Yadier Molina, who moved to third when José Ramirez sliced an opposite-field double into the right-field corner.
Marcell Ozuna followed with a two-run single to center, giving the Cards a fast start. In his 12 starts, Peralta has allowed 12 first-inning runs (9.00 ERA).
BOX SCORE: Cardinals 5, Brewers 2
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The Brewers had a prime opportunity to cut into that lead in the third when Christian Yelich led off with a double to right-center and moved up on Lorenzo Cain’s grounder to second. Mike Moustakas drew a walk, putting runners on the corners with one down, but Jesús Aguilar grounded into a 6-4-3 double play and it remained 2-0.
Peralta pitched around a pair of no-out walks in the second and pitched a perfect third, but Jedd Gyorko jumped on the first pitch in the bottom of the fourth, an 88-mph fastball, and knocked it out to left for his 10th home run and a 3-0 lead. It would be the last run off Peralta, who recovered from the shaky first to go six innings.
After Yelich’s leadoff double in the third, Flaherty never allowed another hit. The only other base-runner he allowed before departing came on a walk by Moustakas with one down in the sixth.
The Brewers finally broke through on Aguilar’s two-run single with one down in the eighth on a 0-2 pitch from hard-throwing reliever Aaron Hicks. But, with two on, Travis Shaw (1 for 16 on trip) fouled out and Jonathan Schoop popped out and the Cards stayed on top.
St. Louis got those runs back in the bottom of the inning on Kolten Wong's two-run double off Jordan Lyles.
FIVE TAKEAWAYS
THAMES BANGS UP KNEE: Rightfielder Eric Thames was involved in a vicious collision with centerfielder Cain on the Brewers’ first play on defense and exited the game in the third inning with right knee soreness. Matt Carpenter led off the bottom of the first with a drive to deep right-center that Thames gloved just before smashing into Cain, with both going down hard on the warning track. Thames somehow held onto the ball but banged up his knee on that play.
LOOKING TO GET HOT: With 39 games remaining entering the series, the Brewers were looking to get hot and make their move on a playoff spot. They were 5-8 in August and had spun their wheels for some time, going 14-19 over the last 33 games. “It’s contributions from the roster as a whole,” manager Craig Counsell said of what it takes to go on a surge. “Lots of players are going to need to contribute to have a good stretch. Lots of guys will have to hit their stride together. That’s what happened in May (when the Brewers were 19-8).”
DEALING WITH CARPENTER: The Brewers were faced with the task that opponents had failed to do for weeks: slow down Carpenter. He entered the series having reached base in 34 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the majors, which climbed to 35 with an intentional walk in the seventh. Carpenter also had blasted 14 homers since the all-star break, boosting his total to 33, most in the NL. “This is a good player in a really hot streak,” Counsell said. “If anything stands out, there’s been so many home runs in this stretch. That’s something you take note of.”
ASHER ASSIGNED TO SKY SOX: Right-hander Alec Asher cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Class AAA Colorado Springs. Because he has been outrighted previously, Asher does not have to accept the assignment. He was designated for assignment when the Brewers claimed right-hander Jake Thompson from Philadelphia and optioned him to the Sky Sox.
CAIN LIKES BUSCH STADIUM: Cain went 1 for 3 with a walk and is batting .388 (19 for 49) in 13 career games at Busch Stadium. That is his highest average in any park (minimum 10 games).
RECORD
This year: 68-56
Last year: 64-60
COMING UP
Saturday: Brewers at Cardinals, 6:15 p.m. Milwaukee LHP Wade Miley (2-1, 2.23) vs. St. Louis RHP Miles Mikolas (12-3, 2.85). TV: FS1. Radio: AM-620.