​The St. Louis Cardinals capped their grueling 5 games in 4 days stretch with a Thursday night visit from Milwaukee, and many fans were glad to see the Brewers head out of town. Jordan Walker did homer, but his blast wasn’t enough to prevent a 4-1 series loss to the Brew Crew. The game featured a flurry of early scoring, much of it coming from the Brewers in uniforms that felt all too familiar to St. Louis.
Andre Pallante has delivered some of the strongest moments for the Cardinals in recent weeks, but Thursday night’s performance was not among his best. Milwaukee struck first in the top of the second, as Jake Bauers lined a one-out single, then advanced to second on a wild pitch by Pallante and moved to third on a fielder’s choice. With two outs, Sal Frelick and Cooper Pratt delivered back-to-back RBI singles to put the Brewers up 2-0.
Milwaukee kept the pressure on in the top of the third. Three straight singles to start the inning—by Mitchell, Chourio, and Turang—pushed the lead to 3-0. A moment later, Bauers punctuated the inning with a 391-foot line-drive homer into the right-field bullpen, widening the margin to 6-0.
The Cardinals finally got something going in the bottom of the fourth. Iván Herrera struck out to start the frame, but Alec Burleson followed with a loud double off a 79 mph changeup, sending the ball to the wall in right-center. Two batters later, Lars Nootbaar lined a 92 mph four-seam fastball into right-center for an RBI single, trimming the deficit to 6-1.
Pallante’s night ended after he allowed an infield hit in the top of the sixth, leaving him with eight hits, six earned runs, two strikeouts, and two walks. Luis Gastelum came on and navigated a tricky jam. With two on and no outs, he induced Ortiz to foul out to Iván Herrera, struck out Mitchell for his first career strikeout, and then got Chourio to ground out to keep Milwaukee from further expansion. That sequence would prove pivotal, setting up a key moment a half-inning later.
If you missed the pregame news, Jordan Walker earned a spot in the All-Star Game Home Run Derby next Monday. He honored that news by belting a 406-foot homer in Big Mac Land with JJ Wetherholt and Alec Burleson aboard in the bottom of the sixth, cutting the Brewers’ lead to 6-4 and signaling a late rally for St. Louis.
Milwaukee did not concede the night without a response. In the top of the seventh, Luis Gastelum surrendered a 93 mph four-seam fastball to Brice Turang, who launched it into Freese’s Landing in center field, restoring the three-run cushion at 7-4. The homer prompted Gordon Graceffo to take the mound in relief to try to stem the tide and keep the game within reach for the Cardinals.
In the end, the offense that had sparked on Walker’s big night wasn’t enough to overcome Milwaukee’s early surge and late counterpunch. The Brewers outpaced St. Louis, and the Cardinals watched the series slip away as they headed toward the next challenge on their schedule.