MILWAUKEE _ The Cardinals' elixir of a 10-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday night was a validation of how strong their Memphis Class AAA team has been this year.
Five players who were in the Opening Night lineup for Memphis did almost all the heavy lifting.
Right-hander Luke Weaver (3-1), authoring his second consecutive dominant start as he mixed a high octane fastball with a put-away changeup, struck out 10 in 52/3 innings, giving up just two runs. First baseman Luke Voit, just back from Memphis, knocked in four runs, two with a forceout groundout as Dexter Fowler hustled home from second.
Shortstop Paul DeJong, the top rookie in the National League not named Bellinger, drove in three runs, two of them with a single in a four-run fourth inning. Tommy Pham had two hits and two walks. And Carson Kelly, a last-minute replacement for injured Yadier Molina (abdominal soreness), doubled to key the four-run fourth, had two hits and a walk and he was on the winning side as a starter after the club had lost his last four starts behind the plate.
Weaver struck out 10 for the second start in succession and allowed five of the eight hits he permitted in the sixth inning as he may have weakened on his way to 111 pitches. The Brewers managed to score just one run in the sixth with those hits as reliever Zach Duke speared Jonathan Villar's bases-loaded liner for the final out.
The Cardinals, who are chasing the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central Division, know they must get past the second-place Brewers first and they moved 1{ games behind Milwaukee while remaining five behind Chicago.
