The Sports Xchange
Aug 1, 2017
MILWAUKEE -- Jimmy Nelson struck out seven to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night at Miller Park.
Nelson (9-5) held the Cardinals to two runs on six hits and a walk over six innings, marking the fifth time in seven appearances that he limited an opponent to two earned runs or fewer. He was 0-8 with a 7.01 ERA in 11 previous outings against St. Louis.
Carlos Martinez (7-9) went five innings for St. Louis and surrendered three runs, four hits and five walks while striking out seven.
Coming into the game, the Brewers were hitless in their past 31 at-bats. With two on and nobody out in the first, Ryan Braun extended the streak to 0-for-32. His groundout to second, though, scored Eric Sogard to give Milwaukee a 1-0 lead.
Travis Shaw made it 0-for-33 with a strikeout, but Domingo Santana ended the drought with a single, and Manny Pina followed with an RBI double to make it 3-0.
The Cardinals got on the board in the fourth, cutting the deficit to 3-1 on an RBI single by Yadier Molina.
Tommy Pham drove in a run with a fifth-inning hit to make it 3-2, but Nelson stranded the tying run at third when he retired Paul DeJong on a fly out to right.
Milwaukee loaded the bases in the fifth, only to come away with nothing other than bringing Martinez's outing to an end.
Brewers reliever Anthony Swarzak stranded the tying run at first with three straight strikeouts on 12 pitches in the eighth. Milwaukee again missed out on a chance to add insurance runs, leaving two aboard in the bottom of the inning.
Corey Knebel worked around a one-out single in the ninth for his 19th save.
NOTES: The Brewers recalled OF Keon Broxton from Triple-A Colorado Springs and designated OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis for assignment. ... RHP Jeremy Jeffress, acquired by the Brewers on Monday from Texas, is expected to join the team Wednesday. ... St. Louis activated OF Stephen Piscotty (right groin strain) from the 10-day disabled list and optioned OF Harrison Bader to Triple-A Memphis. ... Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said RHP Adam Wainwright (mid-back tightness) threw on flat ground Tuesday with no issue but RHP Luke Weaver (0-1, 4.50 ERA) will start Wednesday. Weaver will face Brewers LHP Brent Suter (2-1, 2.40), who will move up one game but still be on normal rest thanks to an off-day Monday. RHP Matt Garza is expected to come off the 10-day disabled list and start the series finale Thursday, manager Craig Counsell said. ... Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred attended the game Tuesday, part of his season-long mission to meet with all 30 big league clubs.