Cardinals 8, Brewers 5
Pinch hitter David Freese capped a four-run eighth inning with a two-run double as visiting St. Louis rallied to capture the opener of the three-game series.
Matt Carpenter singled in the go-ahead run earlier in the eighth for the Cardinals, who remained one game behind first-place Pittsburgh in the National League Central. Carlos Beltran and Jon Jay homered while Yadier Molina collected four hits and an RBI.
Milwaukee overcame a 4-2 deficit with a three-run seventh that was capped by Aramis Ramirez's two-run blast, but St. Louis answered quickly against Brandon Kintzler (3-1), staging a two-out rally in the eighth that was ignited by Kolten Wong's infield single and included RBI base hits by pinch hitter Matt Adams and Carpenter. Freese concluded the outburst with his double off Burke Badenhop.
Michael Wacha (2-0) recorded the victory despite allowing three runs on four hits in the seventh inning. Edward Mujica worked around a pair of hits in the ninth for his 32nd save.
Norichika Aoki belted a solo homer and Jonathan Lucroy went 3-for-4 with two RBIs for the Brewers, who have lost four of six.
GAME NOTEBOOK: St. Louis' bench was a major contributor in the eighth-inning rally as PHs Adams, Freese and Daniel Descalso all delivered hits. ... Cardinals starter Shelby Miller allowed two runs while striking out eight in 5 1/3 innings, while Milwaukee's Marco Estrada yielded four runs over six frames. ... St. Louis improved to 9-2 against the Brewers this season.