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Wow, we might see an NL Central race go down to the wire this year. Willy Adames homered, Tyone Taylor added a homer, and the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals with a 6-4 victory on Thursday in Milwaukee.
Entering a 4 game series tied for first place in the NL Central, the Brewers and Cardinals split the 4 game series, settling nothing over the weekend. They are still tied for first, and look more evenly matched than ever. And with the two facing off again in two months, both seek momentum.
Brewers reliever Brad Boxberger said of matching up with the Cardinals that "Hopefully we can pull away here for a little bit. But they’re a good team over there, and we’re a good team, so I think it’s going to be neck-and-neck the whole way."
The Cardinals got an early lead, with an RBI double by Paul Goldschmidt scoring Nolan Gorman, with Goldschmidt scoring as well thanks to a pair of errors. In the bottom of the first, Rowdy Tellez grounded out, scoring Christian Yelich to make it 2-1. A 3 run home run in the 4th inning off the bat of Taylor gave the Brewers a jolt, putting them ahead by a 4-2 score.
In the 5th inning, Lars Nootbaar and Willy Adames hit solo homers for the Brewers and Cardinals respectively, making it a 5-3 game. In the 6th inning, a sac fly from Juan Yepez made it a 5-4 game, before the Brewers got that run back on a sac fly of their own, making it a 6-4 game, which ended up holding.
Brewers manager Craig Counsell said of splitting the series that "We stuck to it today. The tack-on runs from Willy and good at-bats in the ninth were important. You have to do everything right in these games to beat good teams. We did some things wrong today, but we kept at it and did enough things right the last six innings to get a W."
Jason Alexander got the start for the Brewers, allowing 4 runs over 5 2/3 innings, picking up the win to move to 2-0 on the season. Boxberger came in next and got 4 outs over 1 1/3 innings. That bridged the gap to Devin Williams and Josh Hader, with Hader getting his 21st save of the year.
It was Dakota Hudson starting for the Cardinals, allowing 5 runs in 4 1/3 innings pitched. Junior Fernandez pitched 1 2/3 innings in immediate relief. Zack Thompson added an inning, before Drew VerHagen gave up a run without recording an out, forcing Nick Wittgren to pitch as well.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of the matchup with the Brewers that "I'd like to play them every day. Honestly, I’d love to play them 100-whatever times. That’s a good team over there. I like the way the rosters match up. They’re a good team over there, they’re managed well, and they have good pieces."
Up next, the Cardinals head home to welcome the Chicago Cubs to town, with Andre Pallante starting the series opener. The Brewers host the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, with Adrian Houser getting the start.
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