Field Level Media
21 Sep 2021, 08:25 GMT+10
Jon Lester allowed two runs in six innings for his 200th career victory as the surging St. Louis Cardinals extended their winning streak to nine with a 5-2 victory over the host Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.
By winning the opener of the four-game series, the Cardinals (80-69) retained at least a three-game lead for the second National League wild-card spot. Milwaukee (91-59) leads St. Louis by 10 1/2 in the NL Central, but the Brewers' magic number remained at three for clinching the division.
Milwaukee, which lost for the fourth time in six games needs to win two of the three remaining games to clinch the title during the current series.
Lester (7-6) yielded a pair of solo homers in the second inning and just another single. He struck out two and walked none, improving to 4-1 in 10 starts with St. Louis since being acquired from the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline.
Kodi Whitley, T.J. McFarland and Luis Garcia each followed by tossing one scoreless inning, with Garcia recording his first save.
Nolan Arenado hit a two-run homer in the first, his 33rd long ball of the season, and Yadier Molina had a pair of RBIs singles for St. Louis.
Milwaukee starter Freddy Peralta (9-5) gave up three runs on seven hits in six innings. He struck out nine and walked one.
Molina's RBI single put St. Louis up 3-2 in the sixth. Tyler O'Neill walked to open the inning, and Nolan Arenado punched a single to shallow right. Molina's one-out single through the left side scored O'Neill.
St. Louis added a run in the seventh when Matt Carpenter opened with a pinch-hit double, advanced on a groundout and came home on Paul Goldschmidt's sacrifice fly.
Molina added a run-scoring single in the eighth.
The Brewers erased a 2-0 deficit in the second. Avisail Garcia, who missed the past four games due to back issues, led off with his 28th homer. After Christian Yelich popped out, Luis Urias tied it with his 21st homer.
Arenado's first-inning homer gave him 101 RBIs -- the first Cardinal with 100 RBIs since Matt Holliday had 102 in 2012.
--Field Level MediaGet a daily dose of BC Post news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to BC Post.
More InformationLONDON, U.K.: At least 13 people are believed to have taken their own lives as a result of the U.K.'s Post Office scandal, in which...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Travelers at U.S. airports will no longer need to remove their shoes during security screenings, Department of Homeland...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: An elaborate impersonation scheme involving artificial intelligence targeted senior U.S. and foreign officials in...
SLUBICE, Poland: Poland reinstated border controls with Germany and Lithuania on July 7, following Germany's earlier reintroduction...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: After months of warnings from former federal officials and weather experts, the deadly flash floods that struck the...
MOSCOW, Russia: Just hours after his sudden dismissal by President Vladimir Putin, Russia's former transport minister, Roman Starovoit,...
(Photo credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images) The Boston Red Sox are feeling good. After sweeping back-to-back cellar dwellers in the...
(Photo credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images) Tarik Skubal had his final start before the All-Star break moved up. The Seattle Mariners...
(Photo credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images) Pete Crow-Armstrong enters his first trip to Yankee Stadium as a member of the 25-25 club...
(Photo credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images) Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado each homered as the San Diego Padres beat the visiting...
(Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images) Marcus Semien went 4-for-5 with an RBI and three runs scored and Adolis Garcia homered...
(Photo credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images) Tyler Soderstrom hit a three-run homer early and concluded the contest with a walk-off...