ST. LOUIS _ The Cardinals no longer control their playoff destiny.
A second consecutive loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, this one by a 12-4 count Tuesday night at Busch Stadium, left them four games behind the Brewers for the first wild-card berth in the National League. More importantly, an imminent Colorado Rockies victory over Philadelphia, would push the Rockies a half game ahead of the Cardinals for the second wild-card berth. And that half game is on the loss side, where Colorado has 70 and the Cardinals 71. Both teams would have 87 victories.
The Rockies must lose at least one of their final five games to give the Cardinals a chance, even if the Cardinals win their final four.
Milwaukee, meanwhile, was about to move to { game behind the Chicago Cubs for the Central Division lead with the Cubs well behind the Pittsburgh Pirates in their game in Chicago.
Milwaukee's Christian Yelich had six runs batted in, three on a fourth-inning triple off Tyson Ross and three more on a ninth-inning homer off Brett Cecil.
The Cardinals trailed almost from the beginning as Cardinals starter Austin Gomber (6-2), who had given up only five homers in 69 1/3 innings this season, surrendered two in the first inning.
Jesus Aguilar bashed his 34th and Ryan Braun, who has 18, hit his first of two on the night.
Gomber would strike out six Milwaukee hitters, getting his sixth in the fourth inning. But, with two outs in the fourth he suddenly allowed consecutive singles to the final three hitters in the Brewers' order _ Jonathan Schoop, Manny Pina and pitcher Gio Gonzalez, who was three for 49 for the season with 31 strikeouts.
The last hit cost Gomber his spot on the mound as right-hander Ross relieved. Ross, reliable in middle relief since the Cardinals picked him up on waivers on San Diego, didn't stem the tide this time.
He walked Lorenzo Cain on a full-count pitch to load the bases and Yelich, sailing past the 100 RBIs mark, unloaded them with his triple, running the count to 6-0. Yelich has seven triples, 33 homers and 104 RBIs.
But Yadier Molina cut that deficit in half with his 20th homer, a three-run shot off Gonzalez in the fourth after a one-out single by Marcell Ozuna and a walk to Jedd Gyorko.
The hit was Molina's ninth in 25 career at-bats (.360) against Gonzalez.
Jose Martinez had his second misadventure in two nights in right field when he failed to catch Mike Moustakas' drive which hit the wall with one out in the fifth. It went for a double. Pina eventually singled in a run but Dominic Leone kept the Cardinals in the game by getting two outs, one on a strikeout of pinch hitter Eric Thames, with the bases loaded.
The Cardinals got one back in their fifth, which opened on rookie Patrick Wisdom's single, his fifth pinch-hit in 14 at-bats. Wisdom would come around to score on Paul DeJong's sacrifice fly but Gyorko, who left seven runners for the night, grounded into a double play started by third baseman Moustakas to end the inning.
The Cardinals lost Matt Carpenter to an ejection in the seventh when he protested a Will Little ball on a strike three that appeared out of the strike zone. Carpenter was tossed as he was walking away although he was still talking.
Martinez's double sent to third Greg Garcia, who had pinch hit a single. DeJong, however, struck out and, after Ozuna walked, Gyorko, who had a rough night, flied to right.
