MILWAUKEE _ Somehow, some way, the Milwaukee Brewers find ways to lose to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Despite rallying for four runs in the seventh inning to take a two-run lead, the Brewers let the game slip away in the eighth and ninth Monday night at Miller Park as the Cardinals pulled out a 6-5 victory.
It was the fifth consecutive loss for the Brewers, who were swept in a four-game series by Pittsburgh to start this skid. The Brewers have lost 33 of their last 45 games at home to the Cardinals.
Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez exited with a 3-1 lead and 13 strikeouts, a career high. It was the continuation of a longtime trend for the big right-hander, who entered the game with a 3-1 record and 1.16 earned run average in 17 games (six starts) against the Brewers.
In three starts against Milwaukee this season, Martinez has allowed 13 hits and two runs with 32 strikeouts in 19 innings.
The Brewers went to work against the St. Louis bullpen in the seventh, beginning with Orlando Arcia's one-out homer off Matt Bowman. When Martin Maldonado followed with a walk and went to third on pinch-hitter Domingo Santana's single to right, lefty Kevin Siegrist took over and failed to retire any of the four batters he faced.
Jonathan Villar doubled in one run and it would have been two if not for a funny bounce over the fence in center. Scooter Gennett singled to right, scoring Santana with the tying run, and Ryan Braun walked to load the bases.
Siegrist then walked Hernan Perez on a 3-2 pitch to force in the go-ahead run and prompt St. Louis manager Mike Matheny to summon right-hander Miguel Socolovich. He struck out Chris Carter and popped up Kirk Nieuwenhuis (his second out of the inning) to prevent more damage, which would prove important the following inning.
Reliever Corey Knebel, who had allowed one homer in 20 previous appearances, surrendered a two-run blast to Randal Grichuk in the eighth that allowed the Cards to draw even at 5.
The Brewers then gave away the game in the ninth on a throwing error by Villar at third base. With two on and no outs, pitcher Tyler Thornburg fielded a bunt by Yadier Molina and threw to third for a force but Villar threw wildly to first base trying to get a double play, allowing Stephen Piscotty to score all the way from first base with the decisive run.
The Brewers had no chance in the early going against Martinez. Over the first three innings, only one hitter put a ball in play _ Braun grounded out to short to end the first _ as the big righty recorded eight strikeouts.
Brewers starter Zach Davies also was having his way with the St. Louis hitters until singles by Piscotty and Molina in the fourth put runners on the corners with no outs. Jhonny Peralta grounded to Villar, who came home to try to get Piscotty, but he beat Maldonado's rundown attempt back to third base to leave the bases loaded.
Davies struck out Grichuk looking on a 2-2 fastball at the knees, but Kolten Wong made the Brewers pay for their defensive mistake with a sacrifice fly to left that put the Cards on top, 1-0. The lead grew to two runs when Jedd Gyorko ripped a changeup out to left for a home run with one down in the fifth.
Martinez took a two-hit shutout into the sixth inning, but Villar led off with a laser-beam double to right-center and Gennett put the Brewers on the board with a RBI single to right.
Wong restored the Cardinals' lead to two runs when he smashed a 0-1 changeup out to right field for his third home run leading off the seventh against Davies.
