The Milwaukee Brewers powered their way to a 7-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in a Tuesday matchup that saw Tyrone Taylor playing a pivotal role, driving in a run and crossing the plate twice. The win brought the Brewers’ magic number to clinch the National League Central down to just six.
Taylor’s contributions were noteworthy, as he hit a crucial double, drew two walks, and executed a stolen base for the Brewers (85-66). William Contreras also made his presence felt with a homer and two runs scored for Milwaukee, while Richie Palacios added a home run for the Cardinals (67-84).
The game took an unfortunate turn for the Cardinals early on when Alec Burleson, who hit an RBI double and scored a run, exited the game with a broken thumb after a headfirst slide in the first inning.
Milwaukee opted for reliever Trevor Megill as their opener, but he struggled, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk in just one inning.
Colin Rea (6-6) came on in relief of Megill and assumed the bulk-innings role for the Brewers. He allowed one run on three hits and three walks while striking out two in 4 2/3 innings.
On the other side, Cardinals starting pitcher Drew Rom (1-3) had a challenging outing, surrendering five runs on six hits and two walks in 3 1/3 innings. He managed to strike out three batters.
The Cardinals initially surged ahead with a 2-0 lead in the first inning, courtesy of Lars Nootbaar’s leadoff single, a stolen base, and Burleson’s ground-rule double. Burleson’s steal of third base and Nolan Arenado’s sacrifice fly added to the early advantage.
However, Milwaukee quickly responded, with Contreras cutting the deficit to 2-1 in the third inning with his 17th home run of the season.
The Brewers took control in the fourth inning, grabbing a 5-2 lead. Consecutive doubles by Willy Adames, Josh Donaldson, Taylor, and Sal Frelick played a crucial role in chasing Rom from the game. Mark Canha’s fielder’s-choice grounder also contributed to the inning’s offensive output.
Palacios managed to narrow the margin to 5-3 in the fifth with his fifth home run.
In the eighth inning, Taylor drew a leadoff walk, executed a stolen base, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on Andruw Monasterio’s sacrifice fly, extending Milwaukee’s lead to 6-3.
The Brewers added an insurance run in the ninth when Contreras walked, stole second base, and scored on a single by Adames.
With this victory, the Brewers maintained their strong position in the National League Central race, while the Cardinals continued to face a challenging season.
