Sunday’s Game Report: Brewers 3, Cardinals 2
By Rob Rains
There is one statistic which will haunt the Cardinals after their loss to the Brewers on Sunday in Milwaukee.
Zero-for-seven.
That was what the Cardinals did with a runner in scoring position, and four of those hitless at-bats came in the decisive eighth and ninth innings.
A hit in any of those four at-bats would have at least tied the game if not given the Cardinals the lead. Instead they lost for the third time in the four-game series and for the seventh time in their last eight games.
The Cardinals fell into a tie with Cincinnati for third place in the NL Central, seven games behind the division-leading Cubs.
Here is how Sunday’s game broke down:
At the plate: Ivan Herrera’s homer with two outs in the eighth pulled the Cardinals within one run and Alec Burleson followed that blast with a double, putting the tying run on second, but Willson Contreras struck out to end the inning … In the ninth, Nolan Arenado singled on the 12th pitch of his at-bat and Nolan Gorman laid down a perfect bunt for a single to open the inning. After Jordan Walker took a called third strike, a wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third with one out. They didn’t move again until the game was over and they were headed to the dugout after Trevor Megill struck out Victor Scott II and Masyn Winn … The Cardinals had been held to one run on five hits through the first seven innings, scoring their first run with Brendan Donovan and Herrera hit back-to-back singles in the fourth before an RBI groundout from Contreras.
On the mound: Miles Mikolas allowed two runs on six hits in his six innings of work, which included seven strikeouts. Christian Yelich led off the fourth with a homer and two more hits and a wild pitch led to the Brewers second run, scoring on a sacrifice fly … John King allowed the third Milwaukee run in the seventh after a leadoff single, an infield hit and a slow roller groundout.
Key stat: The Cardinals have not won a game this season when they trailed after the eighth inning. Sunday’s loss left them 0-29 in those games.
Worth noting: Herrera’s homer was his eighth of the season, the fourth he has hit in the eighth inning … Donovan, recovering from a stiff toe, was back in the lineup after missing four games and had two hits … Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn were out of the starting lineup as the Cardinals played their 13th consecutive game, although both entered the game late … After going 19-8 in May, the Cardinals saw their record in June fall to 4-10. Since May 24, only two of their eight wins have come from a starting pitcher (both Sonny Gray).
Up next: The Cardinals will enjoy their last day off Monday until July 3. They will begin a stretch of 16 games in 16 days on Tuesday night with the first of three games against the White Sox in Chicago. Matthew Liberatore is the scheduled starter.
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