Sadly: The bench coach and Oliver Jose Marmol of the Cardinals were both sent off.
Even with a 3-0 advantage, the Brewers are unable to complete the sweep.
It appeared as though Sunday might end up being a blowout. Miles Mikolas, the starter for the Cardinals, was forced to throw 42 pitches by the Brewers during a three-run first inning. In the third inning, the bench coach and manager of the Cardinals were both removed. Sadly, the Brewers were unable to take full advantage of it. The Brewers dropped the series finale 4-3 as the Cardinals steadily gained ground on them.
The Brewers forced Mikolas to battle in the second inning after Bryse Wilson got through a difficult first. Christian Yelich drew a walk after William Contreras opened the scoring with a one-out single. Yelich beat the throw as the Cardinals advanced to second base after Willy Adames hit into a fielder’s choice. Rhys Hoskins was able to load the bases as a result, and on a ball four that seemed to be in the strike zone, he ended up drawing a bases-loaded walk. That didn’t sit well with Mikolas, but the Brewers were ahead 1-0. After then, Joey Ortiz grounded out to first base, scoring an additional run. Then, Gary Sanchez easily scored Adames with a hit to left field. Hoskins attempted to score as well, but the inning ended with a strong throw that put Hoskins out.
Wilson was still having trouble going into the second inning. After allowing consecutive singles, he walked to load the bases. After then, the Cardinals would tie the game at three with a run back after earning their own bases-loaded walk. Following that, the Cardinals’ ire exploded over two contested calls. Attempting to convert a double play in the bottom of the second, the Cardinals contested a safe call at first. The Brewers’ bottom of the second was over and the challenge was accepted. Ivan Herrera was called out at first on a groundout in the subsequent half inning, but the ruling was also contested and reversed. Even though the Cardinals prevailed in both challenges, manager Oliver Marmol and bench coach Daniel Descalso were ejected because of their anger over the first wrong decisions.
The Cardinals might have benefited from those ejections. After a disastrous first inning, Mikolas pitched six innings in all. He only required 53 pitches to go through the following five innings, after needing 42 to get through the first. Only three singles were surrendered by him after the second inning. Bryse Wilson, however, failed to really get going. He survived four innings and returned to the field for the fifth, but his day was cut short by an Alec Burleson double and a home run by Paul Goldschmidt. He gave up five hits, five walks, and two runs in four and a half innings of work.
The Cardinals continued to put runs on the board, but Jared Koenig took the final two innings. The Cardinals tied the game at three with three singles in the sixth inning. Brendan Donovan led off the seventh inning with a single off of Elvis Peguero. Michael Siani reached deep center field with a double after three hitters and two outs. Donovan scored from it, and Siani was called for a double when he attempted to extend it. The ruling on the field was upheld, however the umpires did review the play to determine whether the baseball had left the field.
The Brewers’ offense was unable to muster up another credible scoring opportunity. Their only chance came in the fifth when Yelich and Contreras hit consecutive singles to put two runners on for Willy Adames. But to close the inning, he struck out swinging. Turang was the only other Brewer to get a hit throughout the game, with Contreras, Yelich, and Sanchez all having two-hit days.
To keep the Brewers in the game, Hoby Milner and Thyago Vieira both made scoreless appearances out of the bullpen. In the ninth, Vieira had to battle around two walks and a hit, but he prevented another Cardinals run from scoring.
The Pirates visit Milwaukee for a three-game series next. Colin Rea and Mitch Keller square off at the start of the series. Pitch one is scheduled at 6:40 p.m.
