Khris Davis: UPI/Bill Greenblatt
Khris Davis clubbed his 24th home run of the season, a ninth-inning blast off of St. Louis closer Trevor Rosenthal, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a 4-3 win over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Friday night.
Davis atoned for a fourth inning base running gaffe when he forgot how many outs there were and ran into a double play to thwart a rally. The Brewers ended a four-game losing streak against St. Louis.
The Cardinals had two runners on with nobody out in the seventh after a throwing error by Luis Sardinas, but Will Smith struck out Jhonny Peralta and Martin Maldonado threw out the speedy Peter Bourjos at third on a double-steal attempt. Then Stephen Piscotty popped out to end the threat and keep the score at 3-3.
Davis was 1 for 5 with four strikeouts against Rosenthal entering the 9th-inning at bat. But Davis would win this battle, sending a 97-mph fastball over the wall in right field.
Will Smith (7-2) earned the win and Francisco Rodriguez notched his 36th save.
Rosenthal was the eighth pitcher of the night for the Cardinals. They had to use their bullpen after starter Carlos Martinez had to be pulled from the game after just seven pitches because of shoulder tightness.
Tyler Wagner (0-0, 12.27) makes his second major league start for the Brewers today. The Cardinals go with Jaime Garcia (9-5, 2.45).
AUDIO: Mgr. Craig Counsell on Khris Davis’ HR :13
AUDIO: Will Smith says it’s great to beat the Cardinals :13