After he struggled on opening day, Carlos Martinez returned to form on Wednesday night as the St. Louis Cardinals blanked the Milwaukee Brewers 6-0 to win the rubber game of their three-game series.
Martinez pitched 8 1/3 innings and struck out 10 Brewers. Yadier Molina homered and the Cardinals took advantage of three Milwaukee errors in the win.
Jhoulys Chacin (0-1) allowed seven hits and six runs over 5 2/3 innings, but only three of the runs were earned.
The Brewers had some chances early, but couldn’t break through against Martinez. The Cardinals ace went on to retire 16 straight batters before Domingo Santana lined a one-out single in the 7th.
The Brewers loaded the bases in the ninth, but there would be no late game heroics on Wednesday night. Manny Pina hit into a double play to end the threat.
The Brewers are 4-2 after the loss, but the starting pitchers are just 1-2 during that same stretch.
Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich left the game in the seventh inning with right oblique stiffness. Yelich is expected to get a day off today when the Brewers open a four game series against the Chicago Cubs.
Jon Lester pitches the series opener for the Cubs tonight. Brent Suter gets the nod for the Brewers.
