The loss aside, Counsell singled Guerra out afterward as one of the best stories of the first half for the Brewers.
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Jonathan Broxton struck out two in a flawless eighth before Adams and Grichuk added RBI hits in the ninth.
“I didn’t make quality pitches at times”, Guerra said. The home plate umpire ruled Nieuwenhuis safe, leading to an argument from Molina.
“I’m certainly pleased with our effort, it’s been consistent”, Counsell said.
“You’re thinking about catching the ball, throwing the ball and getting out of the way of the guy coming in”, Gennett said.
“I just ran hard and looked at the third base coach”, Diaz said. “But I was swinging at balls I don’t normally swing at”.
Chris Carter homered twice for Milwaukee, and Jonathan Lucroy also went deep.
Jeremy Jeffres (2-4) picked up the win in relief.
Nieuwenhuis led off the ninth with a walk off Trevor Rosenthal (2-4). He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Hernan Perez.
There was brief opportunity to dream when Milwaukee pulled to within three games of.500 on June 12, only to be brought back to reality with a 2-7 road trip. Lucroy’s home run, which bounced back onto the field, was upheld after a review.
Villar hit a screaming line drive off Wacha’s right heel in the seventh inning.
Wacha remained sprawled on the mound for several minutes while the team trainer examined his leg before walking off the field. He batted.353 (6-for-17) with two home runs in his six previous games, including four starts.
Leake gave up six hits in all, didn’t issue a walk and struck out a season-high 10. The former independent league right-hander gave up seven hits and three walks while striking out five.
When play resumed, Molina drew a walk before Anderson struck out Gyorko. The Brewers stole three bases in the inning but left the bases loaded. If all goes well, he’d head out on a minor-league rehab assignment. “We’ll split time there”. “We were just trying to see if we could outlast them”. “That’s deathly. I wouldn’t have started the game until they figured it out”.
An infielder by trade, Perez forced himself into the lineup in the corner outfield spots by hitting.325 in his first 83 at-bats.
The start of the game was delayed almost 10 minutes while Milwaukee’s grounds crew attempted to control a swarm of bees that gathered in the corner of the right-field fence. Martin Maldonado got a start in Lucroy’s place. The 28-year-old has yielded 16 runs and 18 hits in 10 2/3 frames during his losing streak.
BALTIMORE – Daniel Nava had two RBIs and made a spectacular catch to help the Los Angeles Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-5 on Friday night for their fourth straight victory.
“We didn’t have a ton of opportunities”, manager Craig Counsell said.
The Cardinals’ Carlos Martinez (7-6, 2.90 ERA) is winless in his past four starts despite a 1.33 ERA.
“We were a little short”, Matheny said Saturday after the Cardinals’ 8-1 victory. Cardinals SS Greg Garcia is 4-for-12 with three runs scored in his last three games.3. St. Louis returns from the break Friday against Miami to start a 10-game homestand.
St. Louis AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Portugal upset France 1-0 to win the European Championship on Sunday. 2B – Pham (2), Adams (11), Wong (3), Villar (21), Guerra (1).
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The St. Louis Cardinals have had a host of problems in this slow-moving season, but now they have only one that really matters.
