MILWAUKEE — Thursday’s Game Report: Brewers 5, Cardinals 1
There are only a few things a player enjoys more than burning his former team.
Kolten Wong got a chance to do that on Thursday and didn’t waste any time in sparking the Brewers to a win over the Cardinals in their home opener in Milwaukee.
Wong, starting his second year with the Brewers, hit the second pitch from Adam Wainwright into the right field corner for a triple in the first inning, then scored on a two-out single by Andrew McCutchen.
Wong later drove in the final run of the game with a single in the sixth inning.
In his first year playing against the Cardinals in 2021, Wong posted only a .204 average with three RBIs in 49 at-bats.
Here is how Thursday’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals only run came on a home run by Tommy Edman, batting lefthanded, in the eighth inning. It was only their second hit after the third inning, when they had runners on second and third with one out but couldn’t score … The top four hitters in the lineup – Dylan Carlson, Paul Goldschmidt, Tyler O’Neill and Nolan Arenado – were a combined 1-of-16, with the only hit a single by Arenado in the sixth … Albert Pujols started at DH for the second consecutive game and had a single and walk in four plate appearances, but also was thrown out trying to steal third in the second … The team only had two at-bats with a runner in scoring position.
On the mound: Wainwright came out of the game after just 4 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks, including a home run. Three of the four runs scored with two outs. He did strike out seven … The other Brewers run scored off Drew VerHagen, making his first appearance of the season. He allowed one hit, the RBI single by Wong following a walk to the ninth-place hitter, in 2 2/3 innings … Aaron Brooks worked a 1-2-3 eighth.
Key stat: In their last three games, nine of the Cardinals’ 11 runs have scored on home runs.
Worth noting: It was the 306th game for Wainwright and Yadier Molina as the starting battery, putting them 19 games away from breaking the record for most career games as the starting pitcher and catcher … The Cardinals were retired in order in the first inning, the first time in their five games this season that they didn’t score in the first inning … The Cardinals’ top prospect, Nolan Gorman, homered for the fourth game in a row on Thursday night for Memphis … With Dakota Hudson set to start on Sunday and another day off coming on Monday, Jordan Hicks will likely appear as a reliever at some point during this four-game series … VerHagen’s appearance leaves Edmundo Sosa and Lars Nootbaar as the only Cardinals who have not played in a game so far this season.
Looking ahead: Miles Mikolas will make his second start of the season in Friday night’s game.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains