Miller, Wainwright dominant against Brewers

Shelby Miller and Adam Wainwright were dominant this weekend against the lineup of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Apr 13, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright (50) delivers a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers during the game at Busch Stadium. Image Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
This weekend, we saw something that had not been seen since relief pitcher Octavio Dotel was considered to be the Ryan Braun specialist coming out of the bullpen. In seven innings on Friday night, Miller struck out Braun twice before temporary closer Mitchell Boggs struck him out in the ninth inning.

Braun grounded out during his last time facing Miller on Friday, finishing the night 0 for 4 at the plate.

Miller finished the game going 7 innings and striking out 8 batters. He only allowed 1 hit and walked zero Brewers. Trevor Rosenthal relieved him for a perfect 8th inning. Boggs pitched the ninth inning, where he allowed 1 hit and 1 walk but struck out 2 batters.

Wainwright fared even better in his outing yesterday. He went the complete game and struck out 12 batters. He allowed 4 hits but no walks.

Wainwright helped his cause in the bottom of the third winning when he singled on a liner to, guess who, left fielder Braun. This would drive in third baseman David Freese.

The Cardinals would spot 7 runs in the 6th inning. Waino would get things started with a a single

With bases loaded, Matt Holliday would hit a 2-RBI single, scoring Wainwright and Jon Jay to extend the lead to 3-0.

Allen Craig‘s single to center scored Matt Carpenter. This would lead to a visit to the mound and Yovani Gallardo was finished for the day.

Yadier Molina, the seventh Cardinal to step into the batter’s box in the 6th inning, would drive in Holliday on another single.

A fielding error by Brewers first baseman Blake Lalli allowed Daniel Descalso to reach base safely and Craig to score.

Wainwright, batting again in the inning, helped his cause once more with a single and driving in batterymate Molina.

This led the Brewers to replace their pitcher one more time but the damage was not done. Jon Jay hit his second single of the inning and drove in Descalso.

Braun had an 0 for 3 day at the plate and struck out all 3 times.

As the Cardinals took the first two of three games against the Brewers, the Cincinnati Reds dropped two games against the Pittsburgh Pirates to continue their losing streak. With a 7-4 record, the Cardinals are two games ahead of the Reds.

Some notes from the ESPN Stats and Information Department:
* The Cardinals have shut out opponents for three consecutive games for the first time since 1988.
* Elias Sports Bureau notes that Wainwright is first pitcher since 1900 with at least 24 strikeouts and no walks in his first three starts of a season.
* Wainwright is the first Cardinal with 12 strikeouts, 4 hits, and 0 walks in a game since Bob Gibson did so in 1964 and 1968.
* Wainwright is the first pitcher to go perfect at the plate with at least 3 hits and 2 RBI in roughly five seasons.
* Wainwright is only the second player since 1900 to throw a shutout with at least 10 strikeouts and go 3-3 or better from the plate. The only other pitcher to achieve such a feat was Bobo Newsom for the 1934 St. Louis Browns.