MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Brewers are still waiting for Wily Peralta to pitch like their No. 1 starter.
Peralta had little luck against the hot-hitting combination of Matt Carpenter and Matt Holliday, and the Brewers lost 10-3 to the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.
Carpenter tied his season high with four hits for the second consecutive game. Jedd Gyorko hit a three-run homer in the eighth for St. Louis, and Mike Leake (4-4) pitched six innings of two-run ball.
Peralta (3-6) allowed three runs and nine hits in five innings. He has pitched six innings in just two of his 11 starts this year.
"I've been throwing too many pitches early in the game," he said. "Today, I throw something like 30 some pitches in the first inning. That's going to get me out of the game quick."
Peralta needed 29 pitches to get through the first, but then held the Cardinals in check until the fifth. He struck out two and walked two as his record over his last eight starts against St. Louis dipped to 0-7. He lost 7-0 in his first start this season against the Cardinals on April 14 at Busch Stadium.
"We're still waiting for that start where he goes deep in a game and shuts the other team down," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "But he kept us in the ballgame tonight. Three runs after five innings, that's not what you want but we were still in that game."
Milwaukee trailed 3-2 heading into the seventh, but St. Louis pulled away. The Cardinals scored twice in the seventh and five times in the eighth while improving to 77-47 at Miller Park, the top record among all opponents since the ballpark opened in 2001.
"When you feel good, you feel good," Carpenter said after recording his 13th multihit game of the season. "Hits come in bunches. I've had stretches during this year where I felt really good, was hitting balls right at people. Baseball has a funny way of working itself out."
Carpenter is feasting on Brewers pitching so far. He is hitting .571 with nine runs, five doubles, three triples, a walk and six RBIs in six games this season.
"Going through a good stretch right now," he said.
To put it mildly.
Carpenter recorded consecutive four-hit games for the first time in his career.
"He's coming in hot, he's coming in hot," Peralta said. "He's swinging pretty good. He's taking some great ABs against me."
Leake allowed five hits, walked one and struck out four, earning his fourth win in the last five starts. His only mistakes were Jonathan Lucroy's home run leading off the second and Ryan Braun's RBI double in the sixth.
In the Cardinals' 6-0 win on Monday, Carpenter set a season high with four hits and Holliday added his second consecutive three-hit game, including his second home run of the nine-game road trip.
Tuesday night, Carpenter doubled, singled and tripled twice. Holliday singled twice, driving in Carpenter both times. Carpenter also scored when Holliday hit into a double play in the seventh. Carpenter scored again when Aledmys Diaz grounded out to third in the five-run eighth.
BRAUN'S ON BASE
Milwaukee's Ryan Braun has reached safely in 38 of his 42 games and in 37 of his 40 starts.
BREWERS MOVES
The Brewers claimed reliever Neil Ramirez off waivers from the Chicago Cubs and designated infielder Colin Walsh for assignment. Counsell said Ramirez would join the club on Wednesday. Walsh, a Rule-5 player, appeared in 38 games, batting .085 in 63 plate appearances.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cardinals: OF Stephen Piscotty was back in the starting lineup after missing Monday's game with a stomach ailment. ... SS Jhonny Peralta (left thumb) needed stitches after cutting a finger on his right hand with a knife during his rehab assignment Saturday night at Double-A Springfield. He is day to day until the sutures heal.
Brewer: RHP Matt Garza (Class-A Wisconsin), RHP Corey Knebel (Class-A Brevard County) and OF Domingo Santana (Double-A Biloxi) were scheduled to begin rehab assignments Tuesday night.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: RHP Jaime Garcia makes his second start of the season against the Brewers. He is 10-4 with a 2.67 ERA in 18 career games, including 17 starts, against Milwaukee.
Brewers: RHP Zach Davies (2-3, 5.40 ERA) makes his ninth start of the season and first career against the Cardinals. Opponents are batting .294 with seven home runs since being recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs on April 17.
