The Milwaukee Brewers finished the month of April with a 20-8 record, but they did so with a 9-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Brewers needed starter Matt Garza to get them deep into the game to take some pressure off of the bullpen, but that didn’t happen. Garza suffered a right thumb contusion while hitting and worked three innings before being removed. That meant trouble for a heavily taxed bullpen.
Ron Roenicke went with little used Rule 5 draft pick Wei-Chung Wang who was overmatched by the Cardinals. Wang wound up allowing four runs on six hits in three innings. It brings his total to 13 hits and 10 runs allowed in just six innings this season.
Zach Duke followed for an inning and the Brewers called on catcher Martin Maldonaldo to finish up, working a scoreless 8th inning. Maldonado became the first position player to pitch for the Brewers since infielder Joe Inglett in July 2010.
The Brewers got off to a good start. Home runs by Mark Reynolds and Carlos Gomez homered to give the Brewers a 3-1 lead. But St. Louis slugger Matt Adams clubbed a long three-run homer to right to put the Cardinals up for good at 4-3. Allen Craig also homered for the Cardinals, who salvaged the final game in the series.
The Brewers open a four-game series in Cincinnati against the Reds tonight. Manager Ron Roenicke says there’ll likely be a roster move announced before the game. The Brewers need more bullpen help and it could come at the expense of the rookie Wei-Chung Wang. Because he was acquired from the Pirates in the Rule 5 Draft, if the Brewers would have to offer him back to the Pirates.
Marco Estrada (2-1, 2.87) pitches for the Brewers in the series opener at Cincinnati. The Reds will counter with Homer Bailey (1-2, 6.15).