LDN - Sports

Power display, Leake propel Cardinals past Brewers

[July 11, 2016] MILWAUKEE -- There is still a lot of work left for the St. Louis Cardinals to do, but they'll go into the mid-summer break on a high note after knocking off the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-1, Sunday afternoon at Miller Park.

Mike Leake led the way, striking out a season-high 10 batters while holding Milwaukee to just a run on six hits over seven innings without walking a batter.

"My slider was the best it's been all year," Leake said. "I was using it and trusting it. I had that to go to because it was working and they were swinging over it. ... So why not use it a little bit more?"

The Cardinals' offense combined for 12 hits including solo home runs from Randal Grichuk and Matt Adams, who also added an RBI double.

"He's an exciting player when he puts it all together and those were a couple of big hits that we needed in a big win," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.

Junior Guerra (6-2) failed to record a quality start for the first time since June 16 after allowing three runs on seven hits with five strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings.

"I didn't make quality pitches at times," Guerra said. "When I missed my spot, they took advantage and got some big hits when they needed them."

Guerra's run of consecutive scoreless innings came to end at 16 1/3 when Adams led off the second with a solo home run to tie the game at 1. Grichuk took him deep with one out in the sixth, marking the first time Guerra allowed multiple home runs in a game since June 4.

"It certainly wasn't like his last two but I thought he pitched fine," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "The runs that scored, the one was kind of bloop that fell in the right spot with two outs. The home run by Grichuk was a pretty good pitch, really. It was a good pitch, he just went down and got it. I thought Junior pitched well. He had to battle through it a little bit, but he had good stuff."

The Brewers' offense didn't give him much support.

Milwaukee took a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI single from Jonathan Lucroy, but after Guerra drew a leadoff double in the third - the first of his career - Jonathan Villar was caught in a rundown to end the inning.

Leake would go on to strike out six of his next seven batters and retire nine straight before Chris Carter led off the seventh with his first triple since May 2014. Once again, the Brewers couldn't cash in, going down in order against Leake, who faced just two over the minimum for his final four innings.

"We didn't have a ton of opportunities," said Counsell, whose team scored just two total runs in the last two games. "We had men on third with less than two outs, and to sustain a rally, you have to get something going there. We just couldn't get the next hit to get something big, a big inning going there."

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Cardinals pitcher Mike Leake (8) is greeted by manager Mike Matheny after pitching seven innings against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Leake picked up the win as the Cardinals beat the Brewers 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

The Cardinals added an insurance run in the ninth when Jhonny Peralta reached on an error then scored on Adams' double. Wong scored on a Grichuk base hit to make it 5-1 and Seung Hwan Oh worked a perfect ninth to close out the victory.

St. Louis has won 27 of the last 29 series with Milwaukee, including a 13-0-1 mark in the last 14.

NOTES: Brewers OF Domingo Santana will remain in Milwaukee through the break and continue rehabbing his sore right elbow. Counsell said Santana would travel with the team to Cincinnati next weekend and take part in on-field activities. If all goes well, he'd head out on a minor-league rehab assignment. Santana has been on the disabled list since June 10. ... Cardinals LF Matt Holliday was out of the starting lineup for a second straight game because of a sore ankle. Manager Mike Matheny said Holliday could have started but he decided to give him a second day off to give him a full week of rest before returning to action after the All-Star break. ... After the game, Milwaukee optioned RHP Michael Blazek to Triple-A Colorado Springs. Blazek had posted a 12.15 ERA in eight appearances since returning from the DL June 19.

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