Game Report: Brewers 2, Cardinals 1
Jack Flaherty wanted only one of the 110 pitches he threw Friday night back – the one that cost him a potential victory and a spot in history.
Bud Norris threw only eight pitches, but he wanted one of them back too.
Those two pitches, out of the combined 140 thrown by the Cardinals, were both hit for home runs by Jesus Aguilar, giving the Brewers the win in Milwaukee and spoiling a brilliant start by Flaherty.
Flaherty did not allow a hit through the first 6 1/3 innings, and in fact did not allow a ball out of the infield before Aguilar ruined his night with a home run over the left field wall.
Flaherty would not have been able to finish the no-hit bid because of his high pitch count, but he could have been a part in the first combined no-hitter in Cardinals history.
He tied his career-high with 13 strikeouts, walked two and hit a batter but had to settle for a no-decision.
The loss went to Norris when Aguilar hit his second homer of the game with one out in the ninth inning. It was the fourth walk-off homer Norris has allowed in his career.
Combined, the Cardinals and Brewers had just six hits and struck out 30 times, 15 for each side.
Here is how the game broke down:
At the plate: The three hits by the Cardinals were a leadoff double by Matt Carpenter in the first (before he was stranded at third), an RBI single by Marcell Ozuna in the third and a single by Yadier Molina in the sixth … The Brewers’ bullpen retired the final 12 Cardinals batters in order, eight by strikeout … Ozuna’s hit was only his second in his last five games (2-of-21) and drove in Carpenter, who had walked and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Harrison Bader … Jose Martinez was 0-of-3 with a walk and is now 3-of-27 in his last seven games.
On the mound: Flaherty did not allow a runner to reach second base until the sixth, when Eric Thames walked with one out, stole second and went to third on a passed ball. Flaherty got out of the inning by throwing a called third strike past Lorenzo Cain on a 3-2 pitch … The home run by Aguilar was the first run Flaherty allowed in his last 16 1/3 innings … Jordan Hicks pitched around a leadoff single and a two-out walk in the eighth, also ending that inning by striking out Cain … Norris struck out Travis Shaw to begin the ninth before allowing the game-ending homer to Aguilar.
Key stat: Flaherty also struck out 13 batters on May 20 in 7 2/3 innings against the Phillies and is the first Cardinals pitchers to strike out 13 or more hitters twice in one season since Bob Gibson did it in 1972. The last Cardinals pitcher to have two 13-strikeout games in his career was Todd Stottlemyre, one in 1998 and one in 1996.
Worth noting: The last time the Cardinals lost a game when one player hit two solo homers to account for all of the winning team’s runs was on May 13, 2005 (Cliff Floyd of the Mets) … Tommy Pham was ejected in the first inning after he was called out on strikes. He was in the dugout when he apparently yelled something at home plate umpire Tim Timmons … The Cardinals promoted left-handed reliever Tommy Layne from Springfield to Memphis on Friday. The former major-leaguer had two scoreless appearances in Double A since he was signed as a free agent.
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