​Hunter Dobbins was handed the start for game 2 of the day-night doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers and did a commendable job stemming the Brewers’ offense early on, allowing only minimal damage in the first innings. The St. Louis Cardinals’ offense, however, remained largely quiet throughout the contest, and the 7th inning proved to be a disastrous stretch—again. Milwaukee finally dented Dobbins in the top of the 3rd when Cooper Pratt doubled to leadoff and would score two batters later on Christian Yelich’s groundout to Masyn Winn, giving the Brewers a 1-0 lead.
Trouble intensified in the top of the 5th as Dobbins issued a pair of walks to Sanchez to begin the inning. Frelick flew out, but Pratt walked again, and Ortiz lined a single to right to load the bases. Dobbins managed to strike out Yelich, yet Luis Lara, one of Milwaukee’s top prospects just promoted to the majors, delivered his first big-league hit, a line drive into right field that scored two and extended the Brewers’ advantage to 3-0. Dobbins would go five innings, yielding four hits, three earned runs, four strikeouts, and three walks.
Jared Shuster, who had just been recalled from Memphis, took over in the top of the 6th with one runner aboard. He issued a walk to Jake Bauers to place runners on first and second with no outs, but he recovered enough to retire Sanchez on a strikeout. He coaxed a shallow fly to center from Jackson Chourio for the second out, and a grounder by Cooper Pratt forced out the lead runner to end the inning.
The Cardinals’ bats finally showed some life in the later frames, with Jordan Walker delivering one of the few early-game hits for St. Louis. In the bottom of the 6th, Walker lined an 86 mph changeup for a single with two outs, and the following swing by Nelson Velázquez produced a rupturing 93 mph four-seam fastball from Brewers pitcher Gasser that the ball carried over the left-center field wall, trimming Milwaukee’s lead to 3-2. It was a momentary spark that briefly energized the home crowd.
The Brewers answered quickly in the 7th, reasserting their advantage. Ortiz led off the frame with a long home run, a no-doubt blast estimated at 415 feet off Shuster, increasing the margin to 4-2. Milwaukee continued to press in the top of the inning, not content to let the Cardinals mount a comeback defense. After Christian Yelich struck out, Luis Lara walked, and Turang followed with a double that scored Lara, highlighting the Brewers’ speed and depth as Turang’s wall-cracking dash pushed Milwaukee’s lead to 5-2. A call for a poster in the Cardinals bullpen—WALKS=BAD—felt apt, given the sequence, though no such poster would actually appear.
The onslaught did not end there. Vaughan reached on an infield single that bounced off JJ Wetherholt’s glove, and Bauers walked to load the bases with one out. Sanchez then delivered a single to left, scoring two and further widening the Brewers’ advantage, leaving the score in a lopsided state and increasing Milwaukee’s lead in a game that had already seen a string of costly walks and unfavorable sequences for St. Louis. The late-inning rally underscored a harsh truth: free passes and missed opportunities often compound quickly in the heat of a tight game, and Milwaukee capitalized with discipline in critical moments to pull away.