Brewers 1, Cardinals 0
ST. LOUIS -- Mike Fiers and the worn-down Milwaukee Brewers bullpen iced the St. Louis Cardinals' bats Monday night.
Fiers worked six scoreless innings as Milwaukee made a first-inning run stand up for a 1-0 win at Busch Stadium.
In improving to 2-5, Fiers gave up four hits, walked two and struck out six. A bullpen that worked a staggering 13 1/3 innings in Sunday's 7-6, 17-inning win over Arizona got the last nine outs, with Francisco Rodriguez pitching the ninth to earn his ninth save.
Jaime Garcia (1-2) was a tough-luck loser, allowing only three hits and a run in seven innings with no walks and four strikeouts. It was only the seventh loss in 27 home games for St. Louis (33-18).
The Cardinals pushed men to the corners in the eighth after singles by second baseman Kolten Wong and left fielder Matt Holliday, but reliever Jeremy Jeffress fanned shortstop Jhonny Peralta and catcher Yadier Molina.
Rodriguez put himself in a pickle by issuing a two-out walk to pinch-hitter Peter Bourjos after right fielder Jason Heyward singled and stole second. However, Wong bounced out to first to end it.
The Brewers (18-34) have won consecutive games after a seven-game losing streak.
Milwaukee broke the scoring seal in the top of the first inning as center fielder Carlos Gomez stroked a two-out RBI single to left, plating shortstop Jean Segura. He led off with a single and moved to second on an infield out.
St. Louis starter Jaime Garcia didn't yield another hit over the next four innings, retiring 10 men in a row at one point. First baseman Jason Rogers reached on Garcia's throwing error to start the fifth but was erased on a double-play ball.
Brewers starter Mike Fiers kept the Cardinals in check through the first five innings. St. Louis put two on with one out in the first, but Fiers slipped a called third strike past shortstop Jhonny Peralta and got a fielder's choice grounder from catcher Yadier Molina.
NOTES: Milwaukee activated All-Star C Jonathan Lucroy (fractured toe) from the 15-day disabled list, and he batted second. Lucroy missed 38 games after being struck by a foul ball on April 20. ... The Brewers optioned C Juan Centeno to Triple-A Colorado Springs to make room for Lucroy and also added RHP Tyler Cravy from Colorado Springs to beef up a pitching staff that endured a 17-inning game Sunday. ... St. Louis LF Matt Holliday (flu-like symptoms) was back in the lineup after missing all but four innings of a weekend series with the Los Angeles Dodgers.