MILWAUKEE — Saturday’s Game Report: Brewers 5, Cardinals 3
Paul Goldschmidt’s streak without a hit finally came to end on Saturday night. The Cardinals’ losing streak did not.
A three-run home run by Rhys Hoskins off Andrew Kittredge in the seventh inning wiped out a 3-2 Cardinals’ lead and gave the Brewers the win over the Cardinals in Milwaukee.
The Cardinals have lost seven games in a row, nine of their last 10, are 1-8 in May and 0-6 against the Brewers this season. They are 15-24 for the season, a season-high nine games under .500.
Goldschmidt’s single in the ninth inning snapped his career-high streak of 32 at-bats without a hit. Over the last 30 seasons the only Cardinal non-pitcher who had gone 31 at-bats or more without a hit was Pete Kozma in 2013.
Here is how Saturday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: A bases-loaded single by Lars Nootbaar in the fifth inning drove in the first two runs for the Cardinals and gave them their first lead in 28 innings. It was only their fourth hit with the bases loaded in 37 plate appearances this season …Nolan Gorman drove in the third run with a double in the sixth … The Cardinals were just 2-of-10 with a runner in scoring position and left 10 runners on base … They were held to three or fewer runs for the 25th time in their first 40 games … Goldschmidt had struck out in his first four at-bats before his two-out single in the ninth, which followed a single by Nootbaar. Nolan Arenado came to the plate representing the go-ahead run but flied to left to end the game … The Cardinals are now 1-21 this season when trailing after the seventh inning.
On the mound: The first two runs for the Brewers scored when a batter was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Kyle Gibson hit Jake Bauers in the third and JoJo Romero, after inheriting the bases loaded from Gibson in the sixth, hit Gary Sanchez with an 0-2 pitch before he was able to get the final two outs of the inning and strand the three runners … Gibson’s streak of pitching at least six innings came to a halt after his first seven games of the season … Kittredge relieved Romero with one out in the seventh and issued a leadoff walk and a two-out single before Hoskins homered over the center field wall, just out of the reach of a leaping Michael Siani.
Key stat: Goldschmidt’s hit was his first since April 30. His hit and the two from Gorman left the trio of Goldschmidt, Gorman and Dylan Carlson with four hits in 65 combined at-bats in May.
Worth noting: The 12 hits by the Cardinals were their most in a game since April 14 and was their third-highest total of the season … Matt Carpenter was activated from the injured list before the game and served as the designated hitter, collecting a single and double in his four at-bats … To make room for Carpenter on the roster Jose Fermin was optioned to Memphis … The Cardinals have lost eight games in a row to the Brewers dating back to last season.
Looking ahead: The Cardinals will try to snap their losing streak and salvage the final game of the four-game series on Sunday behind Miles Mikolas.
