Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (10-8, 4.61) has allowed one home run at home this season but has lost his past two home starts.
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Brewers: RHP Zach Davies (10-7, 4.01 ERA) gets the ball on Sunday.
Milwaukee led 3-0 and Nelson had retired the first eight batters when Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez started a two-out rally with a single up the middle.
“I felt a little but amped up because I wanted to win the game and I was able to tone it down”, Martinez said through an interpreter. “This is when you really have to test yourself and give it your all”.
Seung-Hwan Oh worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth for his 17th save in 20 chances. The Mets, who are just ahead of the Redbirds, also won on Friday night.
Two more came in in the top of the third when Gennett followed Jonathan Villar’s lead-off infield hit with a homer into the rightfield plants. Friday’s game broke a three start streak for Nelson in which he didn’t allow a home run.
“That’s one of the best plays we’ve seen here”, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “We’re trying to get him back to where he was, because where he was was pretty impressive”. “Carlos has been so consistent we’ve begun to anticipate he’s going to have that strong outing”.
Anderson had pitched five scoreless innings in his last start before pulled at Pittsburgh.
“That’s kind of a buzz kill for sure”, Elmore said. Martinez improved to 3-0 in four starts against the Brewers this season.
“I thought he was good”, said Matheny.
The Cardinals are 73-66 and 30-38 at home.
“I think when you get a lead those tack on runs are a big deal”, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “Make mistakes to those guys and that’s what’s going to happen”.
With the loss, Nelson fell to 0-7 in his career against the Cardinals and 7-14 on the season. “They did a great job right there against a tough pitcher throwing very hard”. “That’s definitely frustrating to give up the lead”.
“It’s just a insane game and stuff happens”, Nelson said.
At the time he was injured, Diaz was hitting a team-leading.312 with 14 homers and 57 RBIs in 96 games, earning a trip to the All-Star Game and making himself one of the leading candidates for the National League Rookie of the Year award.
With 22 games to go in the season, it’s still a little early to be scoreboard watching, but Piscotty knows exactly where the Cardinals are in the Wild Card race.
Garcia talks about the importance of these games in September. “There’s no ground to give up now”. The visitors pounded him and several others in a 12-5 romp that gave Milwaukee its seventh victory in eight games, all against playoff-minded opponents.
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The Milwaukee Brewers are not much fun for contenders to play these days because they’re a fourth-place team that isn’t playing like a fourth-place team. RHP Trevor Rosenthal (shoulder inflammation) will throw to hitters Saturday for the first time since he went on the DL on July 26.
