ST. LOUIS — After a 17-run shellacking in the opener with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Milwaukee Brewers bounced back Tuesday with a 3-2 win.
LISTEN: The Brewers-Cardinals series wraps up Wednesday, beginning with pregame on WKTY at 6:10 p.m. Tune in on 96.7 FM / 580 AM
Down 2-1, Joey Wiemer and Brian Anderson hit solo home runs in the fifth and sixth, respectively, to help get the lead, while the Brewers used six pitchers — all less than two innings — to hold on.
Milwaukee starter Wade Miley came out with a left lat strain in the second inning after throwing 22 pitches. Miley pitched in just nine games last season when he was with the Chicago Cubs and endured shoulder and elbow injuries.
“I felt a little grab in the back of my arm,” Miley said. “I’ve dealt with some weird things before and I thought I could keep going. I’m going tomorrow to get an MRI and get a clear image of what’s going on. Hopefully, nothing too serious.”
From 2017-22, Miley has endured nine stints on the injured list.
Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Miley will be sent to Milwaukee on Wednesday.
“You’ve got to win games like this and they can come at a cost,” Counsell said. “Any time you beat a division opponent it’s a big win.”
Nolan Arenado homered for the fifth consecutive game for the Cardinals, giving him eight on the season.
St. Louis starter Jordan Montgomery (2-6) pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits with a walk and seven strikeouts. He is 0-6 in seven starts since winning at Milwaukee on April 8.
Joel Payamps (2-0), the fourth of six pitchers, got the victory with 1 2/3 innings of work.
“The bullpen was really incredible,” Counsell said. “Losing your starter five outs into the game, the job they did and all pitching multiple innings was very impressive. Our jobs did such a good job. They all did a little more than normal. They delivered. That’s awesome.”
St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol noted the switch to a bullpen game by Milwaukee changed things.
“Anytime it’s a bullpen game, it’s a little bit more difficult,” Marmol. “But that’s no excuse. At the end of the day, we got beat.”
Devin Williams pitched the final 1 2/3 innings for his sixth save. It was the longest save of his career.
“When your starter goes out in the second inning you know they’re going to ask you to do a little bit more,” Williams said. “I was ready for the challenge.”
Arenado led off the second with the homer, hitting Miley’s fastball into the left-field seats. Arenado had not homered in five straight games since a career-best six-game streak from Sept. 1-5, 2015.
“When I did it in ’15, it was a little later in the year. Whenever they happen, it’s really awesome so it doesn’t really matter,” Arenado said. “It would have felt better if we’d gotten the win.”
Miley’s been doing a good job this year,” Arenado said. “He’s not easy.”
Arenado has 999 RBIs in 1,424 games and could join Hall of Famers Eddie Mathews and Chipper Jones as the only players since 1920 who were primarily third basemen to hit 300 homers with 1,000 RBIs before 1,500 games.
The Brewers went up 3-2 when Anderson led off the sixth with a homer.
Milwaukee took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI ground-run double by Willy Adames to score Owen Miller.
An RBI single by Brendan Donovan in the fourth gave St. Louis a 2-1.
The Brewers got the run back in the fifth on a one-out solo homer by Wiemer. Milwaukee then loaded the bases on two singles, one on an overturned call at first base, and walk but Montgomery escaped the jam.
UP NEXT
Brewers: Corbin Burnes (4-2, 3,35) has allowed just seven earned runs over his last six starts. He is 3-2 with a 1.82 ERA in nine career games, including six starts, at Busch Stadium
Cardinals: Matthew Liberatore (0-0) will be recalled from Triple-A Memphis to start against the Brewers on Wednesday and make his season debut. He was 4-1 with a 3.13 ERA at Memphis. The Cardinals were scheduled to pitch Adam Wainright.
TOP PHOTO: Milwaukee Brewers’ Willy Adames greets teammate Joey Wiemer (28) on the dugout steps to congratulate Wiemer on his solo home run a during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday, May 16, 2023, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)