The St. Louis Cardinals received exactly the kind of outing they had hoped for from Dustin May on Monday night at Busch Stadium, but a disastrous seventh inning by the bullpen erased an early lead and allowed the Milwaukee Brewers to escape with a 4-3 victory in a crucial National League Central showdown.
Facing the division rivals they are trying to catch in the standings, the Cardinals appeared to be in complete control for much of the night. May delivered one of his sharpest performances since returning to the rotation, while the offense built a three-run cushion. However, the bullpen could not preserve the advantage, turning what looked like a promising win into another frustrating loss.
After both teams missed scoring opportunities in the second inning, St. Louis finally broke through in the bottom of the third against Brewers starter Shane Drohan.
Pedro Pagés ignited the rally with a leadoff single before JJ Wetherholt reached on a rare fielding error by second baseman Brice Turang. Although Iván Herrera fouled out for the first out, Jordan Walker patiently worked a bases-loaded walk to keep the inning alive.
Nelson Velázquez followed with a ground ball that failed to produce an inning-ending double play, allowing Pagés to score the game’s first run. José Fermín then delivered a clutch two-out RBI single, bringing home Wetherholt and giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead after three innings.
While the offense supplied early support, May dominated on the mound.
The right-hander looked fully in command through nearly five innings, allowing only two hits while striking out seven batters without issuing a walk. The Cardinals carefully monitored his workload after recent back discomfort and a line drive that struck his ankle during his previous outing.
When manager Oli Marmol appeared ready to remove him before completing the fifth inning, May reportedly looked toward the dugout and shook his head, signaling that he wanted to remain in the game. However, after surrendering consecutive two-out singles, Marmol elected to make the pitching change.
May exited after 4⅔ scoreless innings, having given the Cardinals exactly the quality start they needed.
Justin Bruihl entered and immediately stranded both inherited runners by retiring Christian Yelich on a groundout to preserve the shutout.
Bruihl continued his solid work in the sixth inning despite issuing a leadoff walk to Jackson Chourio. He escaped the minor threat by inducing several ground balls, helping St. Louis maintain control.
The Cardinals added another insurance run in the bottom of the sixth.
Nelson Velázquez opened the inning with a double down the left-field line before José Fermín executed a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt to move him to third base. Masyn Winn then lined a sharp RBI single into left field, extending the Cardinals’ advantage to 3-0.
Everything unraveled in the seventh inning.
Bruihl appeared to suffer a right ankle injury while fielding a slow roller and was forced to leave the game, creating an unexpected bullpen shuffle.
Ryan Fernandez entered under difficult circumstances but immediately encountered trouble. Sal Frelick opened with a ground-rule double before Fernandez mishandled a comebacker that loaded the bases with no outs.
David Hamilton quickly capitalized by drilling a two-run double into the right-center field gap, cutting the Cardinals’ lead to just one run.
With the game slipping away, Marmol turned to veteran reliever Ryne Stanek to limit the damage.
Instead, Stanek walked Yelich to reload the bases before inducing a ground ball from Jackson Chourio that resulted in a force out at home. The escape was short-lived, however, as Brice Turang lined the very first pitch he saw into left field for a two-run single, giving Milwaukee its first lead of the night at 4-3.
Although Stanek managed to end the inning with a double play, the damage had already been done.
The Cardinals were unable to respond offensively.
They went quietly in the seventh before wasting another opportunity in the eighth as Jordan Walker struck out looking, Lars Nootbaar flew out, and José Fermín popped out.
Reliever Gordon Graceffo provided one of the few bright spots for St. Louis after the bullpen collapse. He retired the Brewers in order during the eighth and ninth innings, keeping the deficit at just one run and giving the offense one final opportunity.
In the bottom of the ninth, Masyn Winn started the inning with a single against Brewers closer Trevor Megill, bringing the potential tying run aboard.
Hope briefly returned when Alec Burleson came off the bench as a pinch hitter. Burleson had enjoyed previous success against Megill, entering the at-bat with three hits and two RBIs in four career plate appearances against the hard-throwing reliever.
This time, however, Megill won the battle, striking Burleson out with a sharp knucklecurve. Bryan Torres followed as St. Louis’ final hope but also struck out, ending the game and sealing another painful defeat for the Cardinals.
The loss leaves St. Louis with additional ground to make up in the tightly contested NL Central race while raising further questions about the reliability of its bullpen.
The two clubs will meet again Tuesday in the opening game of a day-night doubleheader at Busch Stadium. Milwaukee is expected to send likely National League All-Star Jacob Misiorowski to the mound, while the Cardinals had yet to announce a starting pitcher at the time of the matchup. The contest presents another important opportunity for St. Louis to bounce back against the division leaders after letting Monday night’s victory slip away.
Leave a Reply