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5 things we learned from the Cardinals' 3-2 loss to the Brewers

The Cardinals are still stuck in their 5-5 turnaround, which may continue until their bats fully wake up. Reyes is back, Martinez and Molina are on the way, but these boys need to hit
Benny Sieu-USA TODAY SPORTS

If you had doubts or didn't worry much about the Milwaukee Brewers before this week, it may be best to rearrange those thoughts. They are for real and proved their mettle to the St. Louis Cardinals in a hard fought series win this week at Miller Park.

Alex Reyes' return dominated the headlines, but Brewers pitcher Junior Guerra proved to be the real threat on a day where the Cardinals only teased a victory. Here are a few takeaways from the 3-2 loss that left the Birds with a 29-24 record.

5) Reyes pitched well, shutting the Brewers out for four innings while throwing 71 pitches. The phenom returned with a bang, striking out two in the first inning and picking off Christian Yelich at first base. He threw a ton of pitches in the second and third innings though, which shortened his day. A velocity drop brought out the trainer and Mike Matheny in the fourth inning, which would be Reyes' last. There were no concerns, but stay tuned there for more when the kid is checked out fully today by the medical team. He was good considering this was his first taste of MLB action since Sept. 29, 2016. The energy that can be expunged in the Majors is underrated. I think the kid was spent after four.

4) Matt Carpenter got on base a couple more times, raising his OPS to .775. He is walking more than striking out and collecting hits with ease again. The reports on Carpenter's demise were greatly exaggerated. The versatile infielder is now looking like the guy who has consistently put up strong numbers in St. Louis for six years. You may stand down, critics. Sometimes, you just need to stick with a guy.

3) Harrison Bader deserves more playing time. Yes, deserves is correct. Bader hit a game-tying home run on Wednesday afternoon, his fifth of the season and second in as many days. Bader has as many home runs in his past two games as Marcell Ozuna has in the past six weeks. He's the best defensive outfielder on the team, drives the ball to all fields, and carries legit speed. Play him, Mike.

2) Dexter Fowler had a day at last. Three hits is the kind of day that can spark a man and pull him out of a slump. Carpenter had one of those days in Minnesota two weeks ago, and now look at him. Fowler has been missing in action for weeks, so hopefully he's coming back. He's got local t-shirt companies taking his funny tweet and turning it into a brand, one that I showed off yesterday. Fowler had this reaction to my tweet.

1) Round two of the Facebook Live experiment was the same as the first round: good visuals, terrible commentary, and just alright. It's not about having cable or having sling. I simply like the accessibility of Fox Sports Midwest and I look forward to Dan McClaughlin's call every game. It's comfort and familiarity, and not a cable bill worry. Hopefully, we can stop the MLB live tryouts.

The Cardinals are still stuck in their 5-5 turnaround, which may continue until their bats fully wake up. Reyes is back, Martinez and Molina are on the way, but these boys need to hit. Tyler O'Neill was sexy at first, but pitchers caught on quick. Matheny needs to find a way to get Bader in there without alienating Fowler or Ozuna, or completely banishing Mr. Canada Junior.

The Brewers, though, are for real. They came into 2018 with the reverence of a slugging team, and that was before adding Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich. They can hit and now pitch, ranking in the top of the Majors in ERA and opposing batting average. It may be them and not the Chicago Cubs who stand by the gate this season. The Brewers are definitely not going away.

Now, it's time to push the Pittsburgh Pirates down a notch as they arrive at Busch Stadium for a four game set.

Thanks for reading,

DLB

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