Quick hits: Milwaukee dodges Cardinals’ threats, can force rivalry rematch in playoffs

MILWAUKEE — With the NL Central crown of their pocket and time to kill on their arms, the Cardinals can not do something to vary their postseason place within the coming days, however that they had another final probability to form who they may face.

The Milwaukee Brewers, eradicated from a second consecutive division title by shedding to the Cardinals on Tuesday, stay within the thick of a wild-card race and an opportunity to create a rematch with the Cardinals in October.

If they might resist a rally from a rookie-infused Cardinals lineup.

The Cardinals received the tying run to 3rd base within the seventh and eighth innings towards All-Star Devin Williams. A dynamic double play from Kolten Wong saved Milwaukee in seventh, and Williams took care of the eighth on his personal with two strikeouts to chill the Cardinals and carry the Brewers to a 5-1 victory Wednesday at American Household Discipline.

The win moved Milwaukee a half-game behind Philadelphia for the third and remaining wild-card berth into the NL playoffs. The workforce that claims the third wild card will journey to St. Louis every week from Friday to play a best-of-three playoff collection, all at Busch Stadium. The Phillies have misplaced 9 of their previous 12 video games to maintain the Brewers in play, and the Cardinals had an opportunity Wednesday to finish a collection sweep and provides the Phillies an help. Both potential opponent boasts starters who might shift a collection no matter seeding, and the Cardinals received a reminder of that with Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff’s 10 strikeouts Wednesday.

Woodruff (13-4) left the sport with Milwaukee main by two runs, however it wasn’t till an rebellion within the eighth that Milwaukee received a three-run bounce and a cushty hole. With Giovanny Gallegos in to flee a lure set by JoJo Romero two walks allowed, Christian Yelich drew a bases-loaded stroll to push residence a run. Victor Caratini adopted with a ground-rule double that scored two extra runs.

The Brewers shut their common season with six extra residence video games — three towards Miami and three towards Arizona. The 2 fourth-place groups have a mixed .417 profitable share on the highway.

If Wednesday’s begin was Jose Quintana’s remaining begin earlier than the Cardinals selected whether or not to pitch him in Recreation 1 or Recreation 2 of a playoff collection, the lefty completed the common season precisely as he spent the second half of it with the Cardinals.

Steadily shouldering innings.

For the eleventh consecutive begin — all of them with the Cardinals for the reason that commerce deadline — Quintana (6-7) allowed two or fewer earned runs. The Cardinals deliberate to not push him deep into the sport and didn’t, however nonetheless he accomplished 5 innings on 81 pitches. He held the Brewers to at least one run on 4 hits and struck out seven. Within the third and fifth innings, Quintana neutralized the Brewers by elevating his fastball to Willy Adames for a key strikeout. Every time, Adames had a runner in scoring place to ship. Within the fifth, as Quintana tried to carry a 1-0 deficit, he hit 90.6 mph with the fastball to get above Adames’ swing.

With the bases loaded and any hit, ball in play or mistake more likely to result in, at finest, a tie recreation for Milwaukee, Wong made the attain which will have saved Milwaukee’s season.

Free from the spell starter Woodruff held over them for six scoreless innings, the Cardinals received a leadoff homer from Andrew Knizner to chop Milwaukee’s lead in half. Knizner’s second homer in as many days was the prelude to 3 of the subsequent 4 teammates reaching base. Pinch-hitting for Paul Goldschmidt, Lars Nootbaar obtained an intentional stroll to load the bases. Milwaukee had already gone to its nearer Williams within the dicey scenario and had the Cardinals’ cleanup hitter, Juan Yepez, up with one out and the tying run at third base.

The go-ahead run took a lead off second.

Yepez skipped a grounder to shortstop Willy Adames. The tempo on the ball meant the whole lot needed to go completely to drag off a double play. Or Wong needed to pull off a trick.

A Gold Glove winner in his remaining yr with the Cardinals and deserving of another as a Cardinal, Wong received to second effectively forward of the runner. Adames used a backhand shovel move from his glove to save lots of time. The ball soared excessive, off its mark. The 5-foot-7 Wong used the bottom for added top, stretched his naked hand to catch Adames’ cascade toss after which in a single movement threw to first for the clutch double play. As a substitute of the tying run scoring — or worse on an error — Williams had the 2 outs that ended the inning.

In his newest look as a reliever the Cardinals intend to make use of as a late-game possibility towards an opponent’s high lefty, Steven Matz confirmed a capability to flee bother if he stumbles in that task. Matz entered the sport within the sixth inning with a runner on base and left-handed slugger Rowdy Tellez on the plate. Matz had one out to get to finish the inning. He walked Tellez on 4 pitches.

That put in movement what gave Milwaukee some cushion towards the Cardinals’ run. Keston Hiura, a right-handed batter, tagged Matz with an RBI double that widened Milwaukee’s result in 2-0. Earlier than the inning spiraled, nevertheless, Matz retired Caratini, a switch-hitter, on a hard-hop floor ball again to the mound.

In the midst of the Cardinals day-after lineup have been two gamers trying to shake free from current or ongoing searches on the plate. It wasn’t too way back that veteran outfielder Corey Dickerson led the majors in batting common for the reason that All-Star break, however on the highway journey, his common has sunk from teasing .290 to nearing .260.

Dickerson took a 0-for-24 downturn into his begin Wednesday and prolonged that to 0 for 26 earlier than connecting for a single within the sixth inning.

What adopted was nearly as noteworthy.

Shortstop Paul DeJong, trapped inside his personal 3-for-43 stretch, pulled a tough grounder down the third-base line that glanced off third baseman Mike Brosseau’s glove. The ball ricocheted to shortstop Adames, who tried to get DeJong with a throw to first. DeJong beat the throw to be protected, however the official scorer didn’t reward him. Slightly than give DeJong his fourth hit of the month, the scorer pegged Brosseau with an error.

Nonetheless with two out and two on, the Cardinals had an opportunity to reply the Brewers’ 1-0 result in that time within the recreation. Rookie Alec Burleson struck out.

That strikeout was Woodruff’s tenth of the sport, making him the primary Brewer to have at the very least 10 strikeouts in 4 consecutive begins. The Brewers took command of the NL Central a yr in the past with their rotation constructed upon three All-Star starters, together with Woodruff and Cy Younger Award-winner Corbin Burnes. That trio would funnel video games to the sport’s wickedest left-right combo out of the bullpen with Josh Hader and St. Louis native Williams.

Till Milwaukee traded Hader to San Diego on the commerce deadline, the identical names stuffed the roster however couldn’t conjure that very same consistency, that very same well being or similar outcomes as 2021.

The Brewers reached the ultimate week of the common season with a very good however right-around-average pitching workers. Their 3.92 ERA general ranked thirteenth within the majors, and the rotation had a 3.90 ERA for sixteenth within the majors. The Cardinals had the sting at 3.83, for 14th. Woodruff and Burnes have performed their half. Burnes carries a 3.11 ERA into his subsequent begin, and Woodruff shaved his ERA down to three.05 with six shutout innings towards the Cardinals. Regardless of the inconsistencies elsewhere within the pitching workers, that’s a tandem that may trigger bother in a best-of-three opening collection whatever the Brewers’ opponent.

Woodruff struck out three batters round a single within the first inning. By the top of the third inning, Woodruff had struck out seven of the Cardinals’ 9 starters at the very least as soon as and he had eight of his 10 strikeouts. Within the third, two singles put runners on the corners for the center of the order, and Woodruff promptly struck out two batters to finish the inning.

The largest menace to Woodruff wasn’t the Cardinals however his pitch rely.

After his 98th pitch, he was eliminated.

Not coincidentally, the Cardinals stirred, nevertheless briefly.