LDN - Sports

Brewers survive Cardinals, rain delays

[June 15, 2017] ST. LOUIS -- Eric Thames was almost the toast of the baseball world in April.

Until Wednesday night, May and the first half of June hadn't gone quite so well.

But the Milwaukee Brewers' first baseman found his early-season form against the St. Louis Cardinals, belting a two-run homer and an RBI double in the first two innings that helped Milwaukee notch a rain-delayed 7-6 victory at Busch Stadium.

After clouting a franchise-record 11 homers in April, Thames cooled off considerably. He managed five over the last six-plus weeks and saw his average dip from .345 to .253 when he stepped into the batter's box in the first inning against Mike Leake.

A meaty 1-2 changeup down the middle appeared for Thames' benefit. The ball flew 411 feet over the St. Louis bullpen in right-center, cashing in Eric Sogard's leadoff walk.

An inning later, Thames lashed an 0-1 pitch down the right-field line for a double that again scored Sogard. Thames later came home on Travis Shaw's single that finished a six-run uprising in the first two innings.

"Leake is good at nibbling on the corners," Thames said. "I was lucky to get a changeup a little up. It was great to get some early runs. We need that against this team."

Sogard played a key role as Thames' wingman. He spoiled a tough 3-2 pitch in the first before earning a free pass, then laced a two-run double to left-center in the second that chased Keon Broxton and Matt Garza home.

That trip around the bases led to trouble when Garza took the mound for the bottom of the second with a touchdown lead. Four straight one-out hits, including a two-run triple by Jose Martinez and an RBI double by Kolten Wong, cut the deficit in half.

Matt Carpenter rifled a two-out run-scoring double through an overshifted defense, finishing a 42-minute inning in which the teams combined for eight runs on nine hits.

After that, Garza (3-2) didn't allow another hit. He made it through the five innings necessary to earn the win, allowing four runs on five hits and two walks, with four strikeouts.

"The second inning got me," Garza said. "I didn't have my legs underneath me. They barreled a whole lot of balls, and that's the nature of the beast."

Offense was the early story. Rain was the star of the endgame. Shortly after Hernan Perez's two-out RBI single in the seventh gave the Brewers a 7-4 lead, the game was stopped for 50 minutes.

Aledmys Diaz lined a two-run homer through a downpour in the eighth, pulling the Cardinals (30-34) within a run. Immediately after Diaz finished his trot, the grounds crew raced on the field to cover it.

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Cardinals left fielder Jose Martinez (58) slides in to third for a two run triple off of Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Matt Garza (not pictured) during the second inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

During a 60-minute stoppage, Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell faced a tough decision. He opted to bring closer Corey Knebel in for a four-out save.

Knebel's first pitch was lined by Jose Martinez to Shaw at third. Knebel fought through command issues in the ninth, fanning Dexter Fowler with Carpenter at first for the last out at 12:14 a.m. CT. It was Knebel's 10th save in 13 chances.

"Playing through the rain at the end was a little dicey," Counsell said. "You couldn't really tell what would happen. Getting that first-pitch out meant (Knebel) came in really clean for the ninth."

Leake (5-6) lost his fourth consecutive start. He gave up nine hits and six runs in six innings, walking two and whiffing three. Leake's ERA, once the National League's lowest, rose to a season-high 3.14.

"It looked like a lot of close misses early," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. "He's been so precise on the plate. It was just one of those days he had to make the adjustments. He did, but they had already capitalized on them."

NOTES: Milwaukee designated former closer Neftali Feliz for assignment. The veteran right-hander, signed for $5.25 million in the offseason, is 1-5 with a 6.00 ERA and eight saves in 29 appearances. He allowed his eighth homer in 27 innings Tuesday. ... St. Louis 2B Kolten Wong (right forearm tightness) left the game before the start of the sixth inning and was replaced by Greg Garcia. Manager Mike Matheny said Wong was injured on a checked swing and couldn't throw the ball. ... The Cardinals optioned LHP Marco Gonzales to Triple-A Memphis. Gonzales started the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader as the team's 26th man.

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