Brewers Halt Skid, Batter St. Louis Cardinals 6-2

Scooter Gennett is hitting .357 with a .400 on base average against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2014 after driving in three runs Friday night in a 6-2 win by the Milwaukee Brewers. Gennett singled in two runs in the third inning, and drove in another run by doubling over the head of center fielder Peter Bourjos in the fifth. That made the score 4-0 at the time.

Michael Fiers pitched six and two-thirds innings to get the win. He struck out five, allowing seven hits, including the 19th home run of the season for Jhonny Peralta in the sixth inning. John Lackey suffered the loss. He went six innings, giving up nine hits and six earned runs while striking out six batters. Khris Davis hit a two-run blast off Lackey in the sixth to give the Brewers a 6-1 bulge.

Lackey seemed to miss out over the plate with four-seamers and sinkers often Friday night. The Brewers jumped on the fat offerings. On the other side, several times Michael Fiers got left-handed batters in the hole with two strikes. Then he would throw a fastball right down the middle, which Cardinals’ batters took for called third strikes. It was reminiscent of how the lefty Jeff Locke of the Pittsburgh Pirates seems to fool Cardinals’ hitters with a very straight fastball.

Lyle Overbay led off the bottom of the third with a single to right. Jean Segura followed by reaching on a swinging bunt hit that Peralta fielded, but Segura beat the throw. Fiers sacrificed the runners over, and on a 3-2 count Gennett singled up the middle. Gennett was ruled out on a caught stealing review (initially ruled safe), and the Cardinals got out of the inning.

The bottom of the lineup struck again in the Brewers’ fifth. Segura singled with one out. Fiers again sacrificed the runner to second. Scooter Gennett lashed a ball deep to center that Bourjos almost tracked down but could not reach. Segura ran home while Gennett made it to second base. Two batters later the inning was over.

After Peralta homered, the Brewers added two more tallies. With one out, Gerardo Parra singled to left. Khris Davis then crushed a long home run to left off a sinker middle-in. The game appeared to be close to out of reach by that point.

The St. Louis Cardinals got one back in the seventh inning when Bourjos doubled to left and with two outs pinch-hitter Oscar Taveras grounded a ball to the right side that went off the glove of Overbay to second baseman Gennett. Bourjos streaked around the bases and was safe at home.

Francisco Rodriguez entered in the ninth and promptly got into a bit of a jam. Yadier Molina reached when his hit stopped dead at the feet of third baseman Aramis Ramirez. Kolten Wong corked a liner to right. There were two on and nobody out. On a full count, Bourjos struck out. Daniel Descalso hit the ball hard but right at Overbay, who threw to second base for a force-out. Mike Matheny sent A.J. Pierzynski up to hit for Justin Masterson with two on and two out. He lined out softly to Parra playing left.