The Brewers lead in the National League Central grew to 4.5 games Monday after an 8-3 in the series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Milwaukee jumped out to a 4-0 lead through four innings, only to see the Cardinals pull to within a run thanks to a 3 run fifth.  The lead was 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh when Jonathon Villar’s 3-run homerun opened the game up at 8-3.

Ryan Braun, dropped to fifth in the batting order, went 3-for-3, and Christian Yelich was 2-for-4 to raise his average to .310.  Brent Suter (5-3) allowed three runs in five innings, with six strikeouts to earn the victory.  The bullpen was stellar again, as Taylor Williams, Matt Albers and Jacob Barnes combined for four shutout innings and just one hit allowed.

The Brewers are now 35-20, which is the best record in the National League.  The Brewers are 19-7 over their last 26 games, 14-4 over their last 18 games and 10-2 over their last 12 games, including a current 4-game winning streak.

Game two of the three game series is Tuesday, with Zach Davies throwing against Michael Wacha.