Cards top Brewers to break home losing streak
ST. LOUIS -- Thanks to Jaime Garcia's pitching and Matt Holliday's hitting, the St. Louis Cardinals broke a seven-game, 26-day home losing streak Friday night.
Garcia checked the Milwaukee Brewers on four hits over eight innings while Holliday drove in three runs as St. Louis bagged a 7-1 win at Busch Stadium.
In upping his record to 6-6, Garcia fanned six and walked four, enabling the Cardinals (41-38) to notch their first home victory since June 5 against San Francisco. St. Louis, which is 16-23 at home, avoided losing eight in a row at home for the first time since 1938.
Holliday went 2-for-4, including an RBI double over center fielder Keon Broxton's head in the sixth that plated Aledmys Diaz to cap the scoring.
Matt Garza (1-1) absorbed the loss after allowing nine hits and seven runs, four earned, in 5 2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out six.
Milwaukee (35-44) fell to 13-24 on the road, the second-worst mark in the National League.
St. Louis initiated the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when shortstop Aledmys Diaz, playing for the first time since fouling a pitch off his eye in the ninth inning Monday night in Kansas City, rifled an RBI double down the left field line to plate Matt Carpenter.
The Cardinals' first, first-inning lead since June 12 lasted one pitch into the second as Milwaukee's Chris Carter ripped his 20th homer, a 423-foot shot over the center field wall.
But St. Louis responded with a five-run fourth, helped by Garza inexplicably underhanding a throw several feet wide of first base on Matt Adams' smash to the box.
Yadier Molina, Garcia and Carpenter followed with RBI singles. One out later, Matt Holliday chopped a two-run single up the middle to cap the outburst.
NOTES: St. Louis placed LHP Kevin Siegrist (mononucleosis) on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Thursday, and recalled RHP Sam Tuivailala from Triple-A Memphis. Tuivailala was 2-1, 5.06 ERA as the Redbirds' closer, notching 13 saves in 16 chances. ... Milwaukee named 2B Scooter Gennett and RHP Zack Davies as its Player and Pitcher of the Month for June, respectively. Gennett set a career high Thursday with his 23rd walk. ... Cardinals RF Stephen Piscotty (ankle) didn't start for the second straight game, but SS Aledmys Diaz (eye) returned to the lineup after a three-game absence.