Early Struggles in the First Inning
The Brewers faced a tough start in this matchup against the Cardinals. In the top of the 1st inning, Paul Goldschmidt singled and was soon joined on base by Nolan Arenado who hit a ground rule double. Things went from bad to worse when Brendan Donovan got hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Ivan Herrera walked, bringing Goldschmidt home, and then a walk for Lars Nootbaar allowed Arenado to score, making it 2-0 for the Cardinals.
Quiet Offense for the Brewers
For much of the game, our bats were silent. Through the first six innings, the Brewers were unable to make much headway against Cardinal pitching. Despite hits from Brice Turang and Jackson Chourio, including Chourio’s double in the 4th inning, we couldn’t capitalize. The Cardinals maintained their 2-0 lead through strong defense and pitching.
7th Inning Surge
Finally, in the 7th inning, the Brewers showed some life. Garrett Mitchell led off the inning with a triple to right field! Blake Perkins struck out looking, but Joey Ortiz grounded out to third, allowing Mitchell to score. The inning ended with the Brewers trailing 2-1.
Late Game Drama in the 8th and 9th
Bottom of the 8th, Eric Haase became the hero momentarily with a solo homer to left center, tying the game at 2-2! Brice Turang followed with a double, and Willy Adames was intentionally walked, but Jackson Chourio and William Contreras couldn’t push the go-ahead run across.
The Brewers’ bullpen held strong in the 8th and 9th, with Devin Williams striking out three batters in the 9th to keep it tied. We entered extra innings with high hopes.
Heartbreaking 10th Inning
In the top of the 10th, after an intentional walk to Arenado, Luken Baker singled to center, driving in the go-ahead run. Heading into the bottom of the frame, we needed a miracle. Eric Haase and Brice Turang both struck out swinging, and after an intentional walk to Jackson Chourio, Rhys Hoskins struck out swinging to end the game. The final score was 3-2 in favor of the Cardinals.
Looking Ahead
It was a tough loss, but there were bright spots like Garrett Mitchell’s stellar triple and Eric Haase’s game-tying homer. The Brewers need to bounce back in the next game and find consistency in their offense. Let's keep our heads up and get ready for the next battle! Go Brewers!
Scoreboard for Cardinals @ Brewers (September 4th, 2024)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 |