Brewers lead from start to finish, rout Cardinals 7-1

A balanced day by the offense backs another solid Jose Quintana start

Box Score

With the Brewers facing the potential of being swept, they needed a good game on Sunday to avoid it and break a four-game losing streak. They got it, putting up three runs in the first and never falling behind.

In the first, the Brewers got Cardinals’ starter Erick Fedde to work through the first few batters. Brice Turang and Christian Yelich each drew walks to put runners in scoring position with one out. William Contreras cashed in the first run with an RBI single, scoring Turang for a 1-0 lead. Sal Frelick followed that with another single, scoring Yelich. A third straight single from Rhys Hoskins deflected off Thomas Saggese’s glove and let Contreras score. Though the Brewers couldn’t add on from there, they staked Jose Quintana to a 3-0 lead before he threw a pitch.

Quintana made sure that the lead would count. The Cardinals put together a scoring threat in the first, but a diving catch and throw from Joey Ortiz kept the Cardinals off the board. The Cardinals’ lineup made Quintana work, but he kept them off the board through the first three innings. He also racked up five strikeouts through three.

Fedde settled down a bit in the second and third. Caleb Durbin was the only baserunner in those two innings after a pitch hit him, but Jackson Chourio hit into a double play that ended the second. The Brewers got him to unravel in the fourth. Collins led off the fourth with a single, and Ortiz doubled to put runners at second and third. Durbin brought in the first run of the inning with an RBI single, increasing the lead to 4-0.

Next up was Turang, who added on a single as well. That brought in another run, and the Brewers were up 5-0. Fedde got Chourio to strike out, but also threw a wild pitch that moved the runners up to second and third. Yelich made those count as he hit a single for the fifth hit of the inning, extending the lead to 7-0.

Quintana continued to pitch well from there, though the Cardinals kept him working. He worked around a walk and a single in the fourth to keep them scoreless. They finally broke through in the fifth. Lars Nootbaar singled, and Brendan Donovan doubled down the right field line. Quintana wouldn’t allow another as he got Nolan Arenado to pop out and struck out Luken Baker to end the inning. That would also end Quintana’s day, allowing just the one run in five innings. He struck out six, walked three, and allowed five hits. He needed 98 pitches for those five innings.

From there, the bullpen got to work. Grant Anderson started with a three-batter sixth inning. He came back out for the seventh, but the Cardinals got two baserunners with a Masyn Winn walk and a Willson Contreras single. Pat Murphy went to Nick Mears, who started with a strikeout of Donovan. Next up, Arenado hit what appeared to be an infield single. It got by Mears before Turang fielded it and threw to first, but Arenado was ruled safe. The Brewers challenged, and the replay showed that Arenado’s right foot came down just short of first base and never touched it. The call was overturned, and the inning ended.

The Cardinals didn’t go away quietly, putting up another scoring threat in the eighth. An Alec Burleson single and a Saggese walk put Mears in a tough spot with no outs in the inning. He worked around it, getting Walker to strike out and Pagés to ground out. Winn flew out to end the inning and keep the score at 7-1.

Jared Koenig took the ninth for the Brewers and started the inning by walking Nootbaar. He was quickly erased after Wn. Contreras hit into a double play, and Donovan grounded out to end the game.

Overall, it was a strong day for the offense. They combined for 15 baserunners: 11 hits, three walks, and a hit by pitch. Yelich led the day with two hits and a walk, and Chourio also added a two-hit day after starting 0-for-3. Every Brewer recorded at least one hit in the game. The only downside was that they had chances to add on after the fourth but could not get another run. They had a runner at second in the fifth, seventh, and ninth innings, and left them on base each time.

The Brewers will head to Chicago to take on the White Sox for three games, beginning Tuesday after an off day on Monday. Freddy Peralta will lead off the series, with former Brewer Bryse Wilson starting for the White Sox. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m.