ST. LOUIS – Busch Stadium suddenly feels like home for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Thanks to a great start from Frankie Montas and strong hitting from William Contreras and Sal Frelick, the Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals for the seventh consecutive time on their turf, this time 3-2 on Tuesday night in the teams’ series opener.
It was Milwaukee’s sixth consecutive win, a new season record, and extended the team’s lead in the National League Central Division standings to 12 games with 37 games remaining.
Montas allowed one hit and one walk and struck out three players in seven innings, by far his best start for the Brewers since being acquired via trade on July 30.
Contreras, on the other hand, had three hits, the most of the game, and scored the decisive run with a double in the eighth inning. Sal Frelick added two more hits, including a triple, scored a run and scored once.
Things got tricky in the ninth inning when Devin Williams allowed a single and a double with one out.
The Brewers then intentionally loaded the bases and Williams delivered his fifth save in as many opportunities with consecutive strikeouts of Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Gorman.
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William Contreras provides a little more security
After an eight-pitch seventh inning, 1-2-3 by Montas, Garrett Mitchell hit a one-out single to center to bring Contreras to bat.
He delivered his third consecutive hit, this time a 109.7 mph double off the wall in center that brought Mitchell home and increased Milwaukee’s lead to 3-0.
That extra run played a big role, too, as manager Pat Murphy took Montas (6-8) off the field on 89 pitches for the eighth inning and brought in Nick Mears. Mears allowed a leadoff single and then a two-out, two-run home run from pinch-hitter Matt Carpenter that cut the Brewers’ lead to 3-2.
Masyn Winn hit a single next, and Murphy walked Jared Koenig as left-hander Alec Burleson was on. Oli Marmol walked Tommy Pham instead, and Koenig struck him out on three pitches.
A good approach against Erick Fedde
The Cardinals’ big signing just before the trade deadline played a few innings without any stress, but otherwise had to assert himself against Milwaukee’s lineup.
Contreras was on base after his second consecutive single in the sixth inning and Fedde got Willy Adames to pop out, but rookie Tyler Black worked a six-pitch walk, leaving Fedde’s pitch count at 95 and St. Louis manager Oli Marmol having to take him out of the game.
A terrific dive from shortstop Masyn Winn robbed Rhys Hoskins of an RBI and kept the Brewers scoreless, but getting Fedde out of the game and into the Cardinals’ bullpen was a win in itself.
Montas, who had allowed seven walks in his previous two starts, gave up his first with one out in the sixth inning to light-hitting speedster Victor Scott II.
Winn followed with a sharp chopper to Joey Ortiz, who was positioned deep at third base and picked up the ball cleanly in the air, turned around and forced Scott to win with a strong throw to second base.
Alec Burleson then threw a flyout and Montas went six innings for Milwaukee for the first time.
Improved efficiency for Frankie Montas
Due to the high number of pitches, Montas was only able to complete five innings once in his first three starts for Milwaukee.
However, he only needed 22 pitches for the first two innings, and although he needed 14 and 19 for the third and fourth runs, respectively, Montas allowed only one baserunner on a single by Burleson in the fourth inning.
The offense gave Montas some breathing room in the fifth inning when Frelick hit a triple into the right field corner, giving him his first multi-hit game since Aug. 8. One batter later, he scored on an opposite-field single by Ortiz to make it 2-0.
Free tickets lead to the first run
With one out in the second inning, Fedde walked Adames and Black in back-to-back batting appearances. After Hoskins made a line out, Frelick went the other way and hit a single to left-center field that scored Adames and gave the Brewers a sixth-straight lead.
Brewer’s time, television, radio
The Brewers game begins at 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday.
Television: Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620 and a state network.
Brewers lineup
- Brice Turang 2B
- Jackson Chourio LF
- Garrett Mitchell CF
- William Contreras DH
- Willy Adames SS
- Tyler Black DH
- Rhys Hoskins 1B
- Sal Frelick RF
- Joey Ortiz 3B
Cardinals lineup
- Masyn Winn SS
- Alec Burleson DH
- Willson Contreras C
- Brandon Donovan LF
- Nolan Arenado 3B
- Lars Nootbaar RF
- Paul Goldschmidt 1B
- Nolan Gorman2B
- Victor Scott II CF
Brewers Schedule
Brewers at Cardinals, Wednesday, 6:45 p.m.. Milwaukee RHP Tobias Myers (6-5, 2.81) vs. St. Louis RHP Kyle Gibson (7-5, 4.26). Broadcasts: TV – Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620.
Brewers at Cardinals, Thursday 1:15 p.m.. Milwaukee RHP Freddy Peralta (8-7, 4.00) vs. St. Louis RHP Miles Mikolas (8-10, 5.41). Broadcasts: TV – Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620.
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