Milwaukee 5, St. Louis 4

Brewers 5, Cardinals 4 (13): Ryan Braun belted his National League-leading 38th homer in the 13th inning to lift visiting Milwaukee in the marathon series opener.

Braun's one-out blast off Lance Lynn (13-7) also upped his NL-leading RBI total to 100 and made the reigning league MVP the first player in franchise history to record five consecutive 100-RBI seasons.

Brandon Kintzler (1-0) earned the win with a scoreless 12th and closer John Axford worked around a two-out walk to notch his 26th save as the Brewers pulled within six games of St. Louis in the wild-card race.

Martin Maldonado had three hits, including a run-scoring single, as Milwaukee won for the 14th time in 18 games following a rain delay of 2 hours and 20 minutes at the start of the contest.

Yadier Molina clubbed a tying two-run homer off Jim Henderson in the eighth inning for the Cardinals, who maintained a 1 1/2-game lead over Pittsburgh and Los Angeles for the second wild-card spot.

Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo settled down after a shaky first inning and allowed two runs on six hits while striking out six in six innings.

Kyle Lohse was charged with two runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings but lost his bid for a ninth straight win when pinch hitter Travis Ishikawa delivered a tying RBI double off Edward Mujica in the seventh inning.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Molina's homer gave him 65 RBIs, matching his career high established in 2011. ... Henderson had not yielded a homer in his first 21 major-league appearances. ... Cardinals LF Matt Holliday (back spasms) was not in the lineup for the second straight game in what the team said was a precautionary move due to the soggy conditions. He grounded out as a pinch hitter in the ninth. ... Brewers 3B Aramis Ramirez missed his second game in a row due to a lower back strain. Taylor Green was called up from the minors and started in his place. ... Cardinals RHP Chris Carpenter, who has been out all season with a nerve issue in his pitching shoulder, threw a bullpen session Friday and is scheduled to throw a simulated game Monday. The Cardinals are holding out hope that the former Cy Young Award winner can return before the end of the season.

• St. Louis will play their next game at home against Milwaukee. The Cardinals have a W/L % of .541 after a win and .531 after a loss.
• Milwaukee will play their next game on the road against St. Louis. The Brewers have a W/L % of .493 after a win and .493 after a loss.