Cardinals 5, Brewers 4
MILWAUKEE -- Rookie outfielder Tommy Pham hit two home runs and left-hander Jamie Garcia struck out four to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers Wednesday night at Miller Park.
Pham had hit two home runs through his first 42 major league games but doubled that total in his first two at-bats. He finished the day with three hits and just missed a third home run in the eighth, flying out to center fielder Logan Schafer, just a few feet from the wall.
Garcia (9-5) gave up eight hits and a walk over 6 1/3 innings of work but held Milwaukee to a run to earn his eighth victory in nine starts.
Right-hander Trevor Rosenthal worked a perfect ninth and earned his 45th save of the season.
Brewers right-hander Wily Peralta (5-9) lasted just four innings and was charged with five runs on six hits and a pair of walks while striking out two.
Second baseman Kolten Wong's one-out walk in the second set the stage for Pham's first home run of the day, which gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.
Third baseman Matt Carpenter made it a 3-0 game when he led off the third with his 22nd home run of the season. After Wong's one-out single in the fourth, Pham struck again, drilling a 3-2 slider to center, putting St. Louis up 5-0.
Two singles and an error by Carpenter gave the Brewers runners at the corners with no outs in the bottom of the fourth. Second baseman Elian Herrera dropped a base hit between three charging Cardinals to score Milwaukee's first run.
The next batter, catcher Martin Maldonado, made it a one-run game with a three-run home run to right-center, his fourth of the year.
NOTES: Brewers OF Ryan Braun was scratched from the starting lineup with lower back tightness. Manager Craig Counsell expects Braun, who was batting .376 with six home runs and 21 RBIs in his past 29 games, to be back in the lineup Thursday. ... Milwaukee was also without C Jonathan Lucroy, who hasn't played since Sept. 8 because of post-concussion symptoms, and 1B Adam Lind, who sat against Cardinals LHP Jamie Garcia. Lind was batting .229 against left-handed pitchers this season and .299 against right-handers. ... Cardinals 1B Matt Adams was back on the bench Wednesday, a day after making his first start since May 26. Adams missed 91 games with a right quad injury and has served primarily as a pinch hitter since being activated last week.