The Sports Xchange
May 4, 2017
ST. LOUIS -- Thanks to their bullpen and a rookie's milestone, the Milwaukee Brewers snapped a lengthy streak of futility Thursday night.
Getting 4 1/3 scoreless innings from their relievers and a tie-breaking home run from Jesus Aguilar in the seventh, Milwaukee edged the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 at Busch Stadium.
Aguilar clouted his first big league homer with two outs off Matt Bowman (1-1) over the Brewers' bullpen in left-center to snap a 4-4 deadlock.
Oliver Drake (2-0) got his second win with a scoreless sixth and Neftali Feliz, the last of five relievers, pitched the ninth for his eighth save. The result gave Milwaukee (15-14) its first series win over St. Louis (13-14) since April 2014, a span of 17 series which saw it lose 15 and split two.
Neither starter lasted past the fifth inning.
The Brewers' Chase Anderson went 4 2/3 innings, yielding seven hits and four runs with three walks and six strikeouts.
Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright gave up 10 hits and four runs in five innings, allowing three walks and fanning four.
The teams combined for 25 hits and stranded 24 baserunners.
St. Louis initiated the scoring in the bottom of the second inning with three runs. Kolten Wong knocked in Yadier Molina with an infield single and Dexter Fowler laced a two-run triple to right-center that plated Aledmys Diaz and Wong.
Milwaukee responded with its own three-spot in the third.
Travis Shaw sliced a two-run double just inside the third base line that scored Eric Thames and Hernan Perez, while Keon Broxton bounced an RBI double down the left field line to chase Shaw home.
Molina's run-producing single to left in the Cardinals' half of the third scored Matt Carpenter to restore a 4-3 edge, but Broxton tied it in the fifth by lining a solo homer to left, his second of the year.
St. Louis lost starting right fielder Stephen Piscotty (hamstring strain) and center fielder Dexter Fowler (shoulder strain) to injuries in the game's first three innings.
NOTES: Milwaukee consummated a minor league trade Thursday, shipping OF Victor Roache to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Roache was batting .178 at Double-A Biloxi with 26 strikeouts in 74 at-bats. ... St. Louis 3B Jhonny Peralta (upper respiratory infection) will start a rehab assignment Friday at Class A Palm Beach. Peralta went on the 10-day disabled list April 17. ... Milwaukee minor league RHP Phil Bickford was hit by a line drive while throwing batting practice at extended spring training and broke his hand. Bickford is serving a 50-game suspension after failing a drug test.