Rosenthal gets lit up in ninth, Cardinals fall to Brewers 8-4
ST. LOUIS -- Jason Rogers hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the ninth inning off St. Louis closer Trevor Rosenthal to lift the Milwaukee Brewers to an 8-4 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday.
The Cardinals' NL Central lead was cut to 2 games over Pittsburgh. The Cardinals' magic number for clinching the crown remains at five.
Khris Davis homered twice and drove in four runs for the Brewers, who scored seven runs in the ninth. All four Milwaukee batters reached safely against Rosenthal (2-4), who had converted 47 of 49 save opportunities. His last blown save came July 12 at Pittsburgh.
Rogers, who is 13 of 48 as a pinch hitter, ripped his second pinch-hit homer of the season.
Davis added a three-run homer later in the ninth off Seth Maness for an 8-3 lead.
David Goforth (1-0) picked up the win with one inning of relief.
Francisco Rodriguez picked up his 37th save in 39 chances. He retired Brandon Moss with two on to end the game.
Matt Carpenter and Stephen Piscotty hit back-to-back homers in the seventh to give the Cardinals a 3-1 lead.
Hernan Perez then started the Milwaukee ninth with a single. Martin Maldonado was hit by a pitch and Jonathan Lucroy walked to load the bases for Rogers.
St. Louis starter John Lackey allowed one run on five hits over seven innings for his 26th quality start in 32 outings this season.
Carpenter slammed a one-out home run off Jeremy Jeffress to break a 1-all tie. Piscotty followed with his seventh homer of the season.
The Cardinals hit back-to-back homers for the third time this season.
Davis, who has a team-high 26 homers, gave the Brewers a 1-0 lead with a home run off Lackey in the second. Davis has three homers in 17 career at-bats against Lackey.
The Cardinals tied the game in the fourth on singles by Matt Adams and Kolten Wong and an RBI groundout by Tony Cruz.
CROWD CONTROL
The Cardinals recorded their 37th sellout of the season and finished with 3,520,889 in attendance, an average of 43,468 per game. It is the second-highest attendance in the majors behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cardinals: INF Carpenter returned to the lineup after leaving Saturday's 5-1 win with tightness in his left hip.
UP NEXT
Brewers; RHP Jorge Lopez will make his major league debut on Tuesday in the first of a three-game series in San Diego. He will be opposed by RHP Tyson Ross (10-11, 3.17).
Cardinals: RHP Lance Lynn (12-10, 3.16) faces LHP J.A. Happ (10-8, 3.88) on Monday in the first of a crucial three-game series in Pittsburgh.
