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Cardinals figure out Hader, but fall 6-4 to Brewers

That object coming up from behind, the Colorado Rockies, pulled closer in the Cardinals' rear-view mirror with a 10-1 win over the Phillies.
Credit: Jeff Curry, USA Today Sports; Joel Hulsey
Photo: Jeff Curry, USA Today Sports; Joel Hulsey

ST. LOUIS — By Rob Rains

The ultimate impact of the Cardinals losing Monday night’s game to the Brewers might not be known for a while, at least until the end of this week.

The immediate impact, however, was the small margin of error they have of trying to earn a trip to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons got even smaller.

Instead of pulling a game behind the Brewers in the race for the top wild-card spot, the loss left them three behind with five games to play. Even if the Cardinals win the final two games of the series, the Brewers will leave town still holding onto that top spot and the home-field advantage it brings in the wild-card game.

“One of the most frustrating ones we’ve has in a long time … the timing wasn’t great, but we move forward,” said manager Mike Shildt.

That object coming up from behind, the Colorado Rockies, pulled closer in the Cardinals’ rear-view mirror with a 10-1 win over the Phillies. They now are just ½ game behind the Cardinals in the race for the second wild-card spot.

The loss was particularly deflating, not only because of the timing, but because the Cardinals used home runs from Jose Martinez and Marcell Ozuna off Josh Hader, one of the best relievers in the NL, to rally from a 3-1 deficit to take a 4-3 lead in the sixth. The Cardinals bullpen could not hold the lead, however, as the Brewers came back to tie the game in the seventh, took the lead in the eighth and added an insurance run in the ninth.

The Brewers started left-handed reliever Dan Jennings for the sole purpose of facing Matt Carpenter, beginning a parade of nine pitchers throughout the game. The win, combined with the Cubs’ loss to the Pirates, left the Brewers 1 ½ games behind the Cubs in the NL Central division race.

Here is how the game broke down:

At the plate: The Brewers strategy of not letting Carpenter beat them worked in four of his five plate appearances. His double in the third drove in the Cardinals’ first run … Hader stayed in the game after striking out Carpenter to end the fifth but ran into immediate trouble when Martinez led off the sixth with his 17th homer of the season. After Paul DeJong walked, Ozuna’s 23rd homer gave the Cardinals a temporary lead. Hader also allowed a double to Harrison Bader and a walk before coming out of the game … The Cardinals had only two baserunners over the final three innings, on an infield single by Martinez in the seventh and when Carpenter was hit by a pitch with two outs in the ninth.

On the mound: The only run allowed by starter Jack Flaherty in the first five innings was a homer by Ryan Braun in the second … He got himself in trouble in the sixth, however, when the Brewers loaded the bases on a walk, hit batter and another walk. Dakota Hudson relieved and walked in a run on four pitches and then gave up a sacrifice fly that put the Brewers up 3-2 … Jordan Hicks gave up a leadoff single in the seventh and the runner came around to score on a bases loader grounder from Christian Yelich … Bud Norris came in for the eighth and gave up a one-out triple and the go-ahead run scored on Norrs’ throwing error on a pickoff throw at first, but the next hitter singled, which would also have driven in the run … Mike Mayers allowed the final run in the ninth.

Key stat: Hader had allowed only two home runs to the last 111 batters he had faced since July 9 before Martinez and Ozuna took him deep in the span of three batters in the sixth.

Worth noting: It was just the third time an opposing starter faced just one batter in a game against the Cardinals in St. Louis. The last time it happened was Sept. 16, 1945, when Charlie Sproull of the Phillies came out of the game after facing only one batter. According to the Baseball Reference website, the only other time that happened was in 1923 … The Brewers ended up using nine pitchers, the most ever by an opponent in a nine-inning game against the Cardinals in St. Louis. The previous record had been seven, done numerous times … Kolten Wong made his first appearance since leaving Friday night’s game because of hamstring issues. He struck out as a pinch-hitter in the ninth and is expected to be in the starting lineup on Tuesday night.

Looking ahead: Austin Gomber will get the start on Tuesday night in the second game of the series.

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