ST. LOUIS _ Before Sunday's game at Busch Stadium, Brewers starter Jhoulys Chacin was 0-7 with a 6.90 ERA in eight career starts and nine games against the Cardinals.
This season, in three previous starts, he was 0-2 with an 8.59 ERA.
But the veteran right-hander was in control from the start in the finale of the series and homestand Sunday as the Brewers won, 2-1, before 45,334.
It was the 19th sellout of the season for the Cardinals.
Over six shutout innings, Chacin allowed four hits, including one on a bunt. He struck out three and did not walk a batter. Chacin, who upped his record to 13-4 and lowered his overall ERA to 3.58, has allowed one or fewer runs in five of his last seven starts.
The loss, just the second in 12 games for the Cardinals, knocked them out of the second National League wild-card spot.
The Brewers had hits in each of the first five innings and pushed across the game's first runs in the third. Orlando Arcia, Milwaukee's No. 8 hitter, led off with a sharply hit single up the middle and stole second with Chacin trying to attempting to bunt him over. Arcia took third when Chacin grounded out on a 3-2 pitch. After a groundout, Lorenzo Cain walked and stole second in front of Mike Moustakas' two-run double down the first-base line.
The visitors chased Cardinals starter John Gant in the fifth. With one out, Christian Yelich walked and Lorenzo Cain followed with an infield hit. Lefty Brett Cecil replaced Gant and worked out of the jam by getting Moustakas on a grounder first, walking Jesus Aguilar intentionally and the getting Travis Shaw to pop out to Matt Carpenter in foul territory.
Pinch-hitter Patrick Wisdom brought some life to Busch in the eighth, hitting a 2-2 offering from reliever Jeremy Jeffress into the bleachers in left center to make it 2-1. It was the first big-league homer for Wisdom. On the next pitch from Jeffress, Carpenter gave it a ride toward the same part of the ballpark, but Cain made the catch at the base of the wall.
The Cardinals had their only scoring chance against Chacin in the sixth. Carpenter, looking to break out of a recent slump, bunted for a leadoff hit. A flyout and a fielders' choice later, Marcell Ozuna singled up the middle, putting runners at first and third. But Chacin struck out Paul DeJong to end the threat.
The Brewers outhit the Cardinals 6-5, getting the two-run double from Moustakas in the third. Lefty Josh Hader pitched the ninth for Milwaukee, picking up his 10th save of the season.
Wisdom's blast provided the punch for the Cardinals, who also got singles from Carpenter, Ozuna, Jedd Gyorko and Greg Garcia.
