Brewers 6, Cardinals 4
MILWAUKEE -- Scooter Gennett had two hits and drove in an important insurance run with a seventh-inning double as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 Sunday night at Miller Park.
Gennett went 2-for-2 with two walks and scored three runs.
The Cardinals began the game assured of a postseason berth thanks to the Washington Nationals' loss in the first game of a day-night doubleheader. With six games left, St. Louis holds a two-game lead on both the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Central.
Milwaukee starter Wily Peralta endured a less-than-impressive outing but pitched well enough to earn his second victory in a row and third in four starts.
Peralta (11-15) allowed three runs on five hits and five walks in five-plus innings. He struck out three, hit a batter and was threw a wild pitch.
He worked out of a jam in the fifth, loading the bases with two outs before getting hot-hitting Matt Adams to ground out to end the inning.
Peralta loaded the bases again in the sixth on consecutive singles by Yadier Molina, David Freese and Daniel Descalso before giving way to Donovan Hand.
Shane Robinson and Joe Kelly drove in runs with sacrifice flies to right before Hand struck out Matt Carpenter to keep Milwaukee on top 4-3.
Kelly (9-5) went seven innings, allowing six runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts.
Jim Henderson allowed a run in the ninth but recorded his 26th save of the season.
The Brewers got an early boost from the Cardinals' defense.
Jonathan Lucroy's first-inning double drove in Norichika Aoki. Lucroy moved to second on Aramis Ramirez's base hit, but when Carlos Gomez grounded back to the mound, Kelly hesitated a second before throwing to second, just long enough for Gomez to beat the relay to first and allowing another run to score.
Milwaukee added two more runs in the second on two St. Louis errors.
Martin Maldonado reached on a throwing error by Freese, and after a sacrifice bunt by Peralta, scored on an Aoki double. Gennett then reached second on a throwing error by Kelly, with Aoki coming home on the play to make it 4-0.
Carpenter led off the third with a solo home run, his 11th of the year.
NOTES: Cardinals LF Matt Holliday was a late scratch due to back soreness. ... The Brewers finished the season with a 37-44 record at Miller Park, their worst home record since 2004, when they went 36-45. ... Mike Matheny is the second manager in franchise history to lead the Cardinals to the playoffs in each of his first two seasons. ... Milwaukee was again without SS Jean Segura (hamstring) and OF Khris Davis (wrist). Manager Ron Roenicke said Segura might be available to pinch-hit sometime this week, and that Davis likely would return to the lineup early this week in Atlanta, where the Brewers will face two left-handed starters.
