Ryan Braun
The Milwaukee Brewers opened a 3-day, 5-game series against St. Louis, splitting a doubleheader with the Cardinals at Miller Park on Monday.
The Brewers won the series opener in comeback fashion, 2-1 in eight innings. Ryan Braun’s run-scoring double and Keston Hiura’s sacrifice fly allowed the Brewers to climb within a game of the Cardinals for second place in the NL Central. But St. Louis returned the favor by winning game two 3-2 in nine innings, moving back in front of the Brewers by two games for second place. Cincinnati, which took two from the Pirates, slid past the Brewers and into third place in the division.
The Brewers struck out 16 times and went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position in game two. The Brewers two runs came on a two-run homer by Jedd Gyorko in the fourth inning.
The Brewers had their hottest pitcher on the mound in game two, but Corbin Burnes ran his pitch count up and left in the 5th with 101 pitches. The 4 2/3 innings pitched for Burnes, was his second shortest outing of the season. But he did strikeout 10.
The Brewers had several chances in the final innings but couldn’t find a way to plate any additional runs.
In the opener, Josh Lindblom allowed just three hits and struck out six over five shutout innings, his best performance since joining the Brewers.
The Brewers and Cardinals play a single game on Tuesday night at Miller Park. Brett Anderson (2-3, 4.64) gets the starting nod for the Brewers. Jack Flaherty (3-1, 3.08) goes for the Cardinals.
The Brewers are 21-25 on the season with 14 games left in the regular season.