By R.b. Fallstrom, Associated Press

ST. LOUIS — Kyle Lohse threw six scoreless innings on eight days’ rest and the St. Louis Cardinals got home runs from Jon Jay and Matt Holliday in the third inning, slicing just a bit into the Milwaukee Brewers’ formidable NL Central lead with a 4-2 victory on Tuesday night.

Lohse (13-8), who leads the Cardinals in victories, gave up four hits, struck out six and walked three. He was pushed back two days behind Chris Carpenter and Jake Westbrook after giving up four runs in five innings in a win against Pittsburgh in his last start.

Yovanni Gallardo (15-10) gave up three runs in six innings, and has allowed six home runs in 10 2-3 innings over his last two starts, both losses to the Cardinals. He gave up only three his previous seven starts combined.

Gallardo dropped to 1-7 with a 5.66 ERA for his career against the Cardinals, the lone victory on May 7 in St. Louis when he took a no-hitter into the eighth of a 4-0 victory.

Nyger Morgan had three hits and Jonathan Lucroy had an RBI double in the eighth for the Brewers, who lead the Central by 9½ games with 19 to play after their four-game winning streak was snapped. Corey Hart extended his hitting streak to 18 games for Milwaukee, which is a major-league best 40-16 since July 6 — with six of the losses against the Cardinals.

Jason Motte allowed three hits and Prince Fielder’s RBI single in the ninth before earning his third save in six chances in a September shot at closing. The run ended a streak of 21 consecutive scoreless appearances for Motte, and also was the first earned run he allowed in 34 appearances since June 24. Fernando Salas, who has 23 saves in 28 chances, got the first two outs in the seventh.

Lance Berkman, who struck out three times against Gallardo the last meeting, gave the Cardinals the lead with an RBI in the first. Jay hit his 10th homer with one out in the third and Holliday hit his 22nd just inside the right-field foul pole with two outs.

The Cardinals had three straight singles off Kameron Loe with one out the seventh with Jay getting the RBI before Albert Pujols hit into his major-league leading 26th double play. The Cardinals lead the majors with 151 — 15 shy of the major league record held by the 1958 Cardinals.

NOTES: Zack Greinke (14-5) opposes Chris Carpenter (8-9) in the finale of a three-game series. Carpenter is 5-6 with a 5.05 ERA in 14 career starts against Milwaukee and is 1-2 with a 5.68 ERA in three starts this year. … Pujols has one more double play ball than Boston’s Adrian Gonzalez. Holliday and Yadier Molina are in a three-way tie for second in the NL along with Atlanta’s Alex Gonzalez. … Lohse beat the Brewers for the first time in four decisions at home. … Hart doubled to lead off the game and singled to start the ninth and is batting .359 (28-for-78) with five homers and nine RBIs.

Craig went 4 for 5 with three RBIs and Yadier Molina added three hits for the Cardinals, who are trying to stay within shouting distance of Milwaukee in the NL Central.

Craig connected for a two-run homer against Paul Maholm in the first. He added a solo shot in the seventh against Brad Lincoln.

Kyle Lohse (11-7) picked up his 99th career victory by pitching seven solid innings. The right-hander allowed two runs and five hits, struck out seven and walked one.

Maholm (6-14) dropped his fifth straight decision, giving up three runs in the first

Rafael Furcal led off with a single and Craig followed with a drive into the St. Louis bullpen behind the center-field wall. Molina singled home Matt Holliday two outs later to put St. Louis up 3-0.

Lohse nearly matched Maholm’s early troubles, loading the bases in the bottom of the first. But he escaped when Ryan Ludwick’s sinking line drive to right field was corralled by Craig.

Lohse settled down after that, retiring nine straight at one point and striking out the side in the fourth. His only mistake came in the fifth when Jose Tabata hit a two-run homer to right.

St. Louis increased its lead to 4-2 when Ryan Theriot scored on Lohse’s groundout in the sixth. Craig added a drive to left in the seventh for his first career multihomer game.

Some sloppy Pittsburgh defense in the eighth helped the Cardinals put it out of reach. First baseman Garrett Jones bobbled a routine grounder by Jon Jay, who later scored when third baseman Brandon Wood threw wild to first trying to get a hustling Craig.

The Cardinals have seen first place fall almost out of sight this month. They began August behind the Brewers but have failed to find any traction.

By Dan Moore

– Managing Editor

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Aug 13, 2011 – The Milwaukee Brewers had moved on to the Pittsburgh Pirates but the St. Louis Cardinals were more than able to keep up with them Friday, putting together a dink-and-dunk five-score sixth inning to propel Kyle Lohse past the Colorado Rockies 6-1 in the opening game of their weekend series. The Cardinals had nine hits, paced by two each from David Freese and Albert Pujols, and got doubles from Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman besides. 

Lohse, who had been skipped in the rotation for the Brewers series after an ugly post-All-Star Break stretch, looked strong, going six-and-one-thirds innings and allowing just one run to pick up his 10th win. It marked the first time he’d gone six innings in more than a month. Pujols improved to .286 in his improbable run at .300. 

The Cardinals will bring two of their top starters to the mound over the weekend. Jaime Garcia gets the Saturday assignment, while midseason acquisition Edwin Jackson looks to close the series out against Esmil Rogers on Sunday night. 

Read More: Lance Berkman (RF – STL), Kyle Lohse (P – STL), Matt Holliday (LF – STL), Albert Pujols (1B – STL), David Freese (3B – STL), St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers

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(Sports Network) – Right-hander Kyle Lohse can get to double-digit wins for
the first time since 2008 tonight when the St. Louis Cardinals open a three-
game home series with the Colorado Rockies at Busch Stadium.

Lohse, a 32-year-old, won 13 and 14 games for the Minnesota Twins in 2002 and
2003, respectively, then stayed in single digits until going 15-6 with St.
Louis.

He slumped to 6-10 in 2009 and was 4-8 last season, but improved to 9-7 in
2011 with a 13-5 win over the Chicago Cubs on July 30 after allowing two hits
and no earned runs in five innings.

The win was the 97th of his big-league career.

He is 2-3 in eight career starts against Colorado.

The Cardinals enter the series in second place in the National League’s
Central Division, where they trail Milwaukee by four games after salvaging the
finale of a three-game series with the Brewers Thursday.

Chris Carpenter pitched eight strong innings and Albert Pujols went 4-for-4
with a homer and two RBI as the Cardinals beat the Brewers, 5-2.

Rafael Furcal and Pujols both went deep in the first inning after the Brewers
were spotted a 2-0 lead.

Lance Berkman singled in Jon Jay with the go-ahead run in the third.

Carpenter (8-8) gave up 10 hits and won for the seventh time in his last eight
decisions. It was a big turnaround for the right-hander, who was 0-2 with an
8.18 ERA in two previous starts against the Brewers this season.

Fernando Salas fanned two batters in the ninth inning to notch his 22nd save.

The Rockies dropped a tough-luck 2-1 decision in Cincinnati to end with a
split of their four-game set with the Reds.

Jhoulys Chacin (9-9) pitched all eight innings for the Rockies, striking out
nine while giving up six hits and three walks, but took the loss after
Colorado’s lineup failed to come through in several key situations.

Right-hander Aaron Cooks makes his 12th start of the season and faces the
Cardinals for the 11th time in his career.

The 31-year-old Kentucky native hasn’t won since a 3-1 triumph in Los Angeles
on July 27, dropping one decision in two subsequent starts while allowing nine
hits and six runs in 10 2/3 innings.

He’s won one of five decisions against St. Louis while logging a 5.43 earned
run average across 54 2/3 innings.

Cook is 2-2 in five road starts in 2011 with a 5.83 ERA.

The Cardinals won two of three in Colorado in late May, giving them a victory
in six of the past seven meetings.

The Sports Network

Read More: Rafael Furcal (SS – STL), Albert Pujols (1B – STL), St. Louis Cardinals, Florida Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers

The St. Louis Cardinals rallied early and Chris Carpenter held on after a rough eighth inning to stay in the race against the surging Brewers, beating Milwaukee by a score of 5-2. Albert Pujols had four hits, including a home run, to propel the Cardinals, who also got a leadoff homer from midseason acquisition Rafael Furcal. Carpenter’s win was his eighth, while Fernando Salas picked up his 22nd save of the season with a perfect ninth inning. 

After a four-game sweep of the Marlins the Cardinals welcomed the Brewers into Busch Stadium only to lose two ugly games and fall five games back of the division leaders. Thursday, at least, was a vintage reminder of what the Cardinals can do when their ace and their superstar get things going on the same night. 

The Cardinals will host the Colorado Rockies on Friday night, when Kyle Lohse returns the mound against Aaron Cook. Jaime Garcia and Edwin Jackson will pitch over the weekend as the Cardinals try to avoid losing any more ground against a Brewers team that won’t stop winning. 

ST. LOUIS — Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals sorely needed this one, so the slugger picked a perfect time for a breakout game against the surging Milwaukee Brewers.

Pujols kicked off a 4-for-4 night with a solo homer and the Cardinals beat the Brewers 5-2 on Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep.

St. Louis pulled within four games of NL Central-leading Milwaukee, which has won 13 of 15. The Cardinals are the only team to beat the Brewers during their hot streak.

Pujols almost doubled his hit total for the season against Milwaukee. The big first baseman entered with just five hits in 42 at-bats against the Cardinals’ main division rival, but he put that slide behind him with a drive in the first against Yovani Gallardo (13-8).

Pujols moved into a tie with teammate Lance Berkman for the National League lead with 28 homers and added three singles to up his average to .284.

“The last couple of days, no hits,” Pujols said. “Today, four hits. What did I change? Nothing.

“I’m just trying to be consistent like I have. I think anyone would love to have those numbers I have after 100-plus games.”

Chris Carpenter (8-8) gave up 10 hits in eight innings, but shut down the Brewers after they scored twice in the first. Fernando Salas finished for his 22nd save in 25 opportunities.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa stopped short of calling it a must-win game, but was pleased with the effort.

“Do or die is the last couple of weeks when the numbers are staring you in the face,” La Russa said. “There was a lot of urgency today. We beat a very good pitcher.”

Mark Kotsay, subbing for All-Star slugger Ryan Braun, reached three times and had an RBI double for Milwaukee. Prince Fielder had a run-scoring single to give him 88 RBIs.

“I think we had a great road trip,” Fielder said. “We had a great series here. I think we played good baseball tonight as well.”

After last week’s series in Milwaukee, which featured ejections and warnings for hit batters, this three-game set was fairly tame. The only thing close to an outburst came in the top of the eighth inning when all four umpires gathered briefly near third base and sent the Milwaukee bench a message.

“(There were) just some comments that were made from a couple of players,” Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said. “They were telling me to keep one of our players quiet.”

Rafael Furcal got St. Louis off to a fast start with a leadoff drive to right in the first. After Gallardo fanned Jon Jay, Pujols hit a tying drive over the wall in center.

St. Louis took its first lead of the series in the third with some help from the Brewers. Second baseman Felipe Lopez booted Furcal’s ground ball leading off the inning, allowing him to reach first. Furcal was forced at second by Jay, but Pujols and Berkman followed with singles to plate Jay.

Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals sorely needed this one, so the slugger picked a perfect time for a breakout game against the surging Milwaukee Brewers.

Pujols kicked off a 4-for-4 night with a solo homer and the Cardinals beat the Brewers 5-2 on Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep.

St. Louis pulled within four games of NL Central-leading Milwaukee, which has won 13 of 15. The Cardinals are the only team to beat the Brewers during their hot streak.

Pujols almost doubled his hit total for the season against Milwaukee. The big first baseman entered with just five hits in 42 at-bats against the Cardinals’ main division rival, but he put that slide behind him with a drive in the first against Yovani Gallardo (13-8).

Pujols moved into a tie with teammate Lance Berkman for the National League lead with 28 homers and added three singles to up his average to .284.

“The last couple of days, no hits,” Pujols said. “Today, four hits. What did I change? Nothing.

“I’m just trying to be consistent like I have. I think anyone would love to have those numbers I have after 100-plus games.”

Chris Carpenter (8-8) gave up 10 hits in eight innings, but shut down the Brewers after they scored twice in the first. Fernando Salas finished for his 22nd save in 25 opportunities.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa stopped short of calling it a must-win game, but was pleased with the effort.

“Do or die is the last couple of weeks when the numbers are staring you in the face,” La Russa said. “There was a lot of urgency today. We beat a very good pitcher.”

Mark Kotsay, subbing for All-Star slugger Ryan Braun, reached three times and had an RBI double for Milwaukee. Prince Fielder had a run-scoring single to give him 88 RBIs.

“I think we had a great road trip,” Fielder said. “We had a great series here. I think we played good baseball tonight as well.”

After last week’s series in Milwaukee, which featured ejections and warnings for hit batters, this three-game set was fairly tame. The only thing close to an outburst came in the top of the eighth inning when all four umpires gathered briefly near third base and sent the Milwaukee bench a message.

“(There were) just some comments that were made from a couple of players,” Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said. “They were telling me to keep one of our players quiet.”

Rafael Furcal got St. Louis off to a fast start with a leadoff drive to right in the first. After Gallardo fanned Jon Jay, Pujols hit a tying drive over the wall in center.

St. Louis took its first lead of the series in the third with some help from the Brewers. Second baseman Felipe Lopez booted Furcal’s ground ball leading off the inning, allowing him to reach first. Furcal was forced at second by Jay, but Pujols and Berkman followed with singles to plate Jay.

That same combination worked again in the fifth when Jay singled to right with two out, stole second and scored on Pujols’ single to center. Pujols moved to third on Berkman’s single to right and came home on a wild pitch to make it 5-2.

“Obviously, it’s a nice win,” Carpenter said. “We needed this one. I went out and gave up the two early and we got the two right back and started over again. That was key.”

Gallardo gave up five runs, four earned, and seven hits in five innings.

“I just left the ball up,” he said. “That first inning, a curveball up in the zone (to Pujols). He’s a good hitter. He’s going to take advantage of those mistakes.”

ST. LOUIS (AP)—Albert Pujols(notes) and the St. Louis Cardinals sorely needed
this one, so the slugger picked a perfect time for a breakout game against the
surging Milwaukee Brewers.

Pujols kicked off a 4-for-4 night with a solo homer and the Cardinals beat
the Brewers 5-2 on Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep.

St. Louis pulled within four games of NL Central-leading Milwaukee, which
has won 13 of 15. The Cardinals are the only team to beat the Brewers during
their hot streak.

Pujols almost doubled his hit total for the season against Milwaukee. The
big first baseman entered with just five hits in 42 at-bats against the
Cardinals’ main division rival, but he put that slide behind him with a drive in
the first against Yovani Gallardo(notes) (13-8).

Pujols moved into a tie with teammate Lance Berkman(notes) for the National League
lead with 28 homers and added three singles to up his average to .284.

“The last couple of days, no hits,” Pujols said. “Today, four hits. What
did I change? Nothing.

“I’m just trying to be consistent like I have. I think anyone would love to
have those numbers I have after 100-plus games.”

Chris Carpenter (8-8) gave up 10 hits in eight innings, but shut down the
Brewers after they scored twice in the first. Fernando Salas(notes) finished for his
22nd save in 25 opportunities.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa stopped short of calling it a must-win game,
but was pleased with the effort.

“Do or die is the last couple of weeks when the numbers are staring you in
the face,” La Russa said. “There was a lot of urgency today. We beat a very
good pitcher.”

Mark Kotsay(notes), subbing for All-Star slugger Ryan Braun(notes), reached three times
and had an RBI double for Milwaukee. Prince Fielder(notes) had a run-scoring single to
give him 88 RBIs.

“I think we had a great road trip,” Fielder said. “We had a great series
here. I think we played good baseball tonight as well.”

After last week’s series in Milwaukee, which featured ejections and warnings
for hit batters, this three-game set was fairly tame. The only thing close to an
outburst came in the top of the eighth inning when all four umpires gathered
briefly near third base and sent the Milwaukee bench a message.

“(There were) just some comments that were made from a couple of players,”
Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said. “They were telling me to keep one of our
players quiet.”

Rafael Furcal(notes) got St. Louis off to a fast start with a leadoff drive to
right in the first. After Gallardo fanned Jon Jay(notes), Pujols hit a tying drive over
the wall in center.

St. Louis took its first lead of the series in the third with some help from
the Brewers. Second baseman Felipe Lopez(notes) booted Furcal’s ground ball leading off
the inning, allowing him to reach first. Furcal was forced at second by Jay, but
Pujols and Berkman followed with singles to plate Jay.

That same combination worked again in the fifth when Jay singled to right
with two out, stole second and scored on Pujols’ single to center. Pujols moved
to third on Berkman’s single to right and came home on a wild pitch to make it
5-2.

“Obviously, it’s a nice win,” Carpenter said. “We needed this one. I went
out and gave up the two early and we got the two right back and started over
again. That was key.”

Gallardo gave up five runs, four earned, and seven hits in five innings.

“I just left the ball up,” he said. “That first inning, a curveball up in
the zone (to Pujols). He’s a good hitter. He’s going to take advantage of those
mistakes.”

NOTES: Furcal’s leadoff homer was the 27th of his career. … Milwaukee will
start a seven-game homestand Friday when it begins a three-game series with the
Pirates. The Brewers are a major league-best 41-15 at home. … Cardinals OF
Matt Holliday(notes) was out of the lineup for a second straight game with back
tightness. … Milwaukee’s Frankie De La Cruz(notes), who was called up earlier in the
day to replace Chris Narveson(notes) on the roster, pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
… Cardinals C Yadier Molina(notes) extended his hitting streak to 14 games with an
eighth-inning single.

ST. LOUIS (AP)—Albert Pujols(notes) and the St. Louis Cardinals sorely needed
this one, so the slugger picked a perfect time for a breakout game against the
surging Milwaukee Brewers.

Pujols kicked off a 4-for-4 night with a solo homer and the Cardinals beat
the Brewers 5-2 on Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep.

St. Louis pulled within four games of NL Central-leading Milwaukee, which
has won 13 of 15. The Cardinals are the only team to beat the Brewers during
their hot streak.

Pujols almost doubled his hit total for the season against Milwaukee. The
big first baseman entered with just five hits in 42 at-bats against the
Cardinals’ main division rival, but he put that slide behind him with a drive in
the first against Yovani Gallardo(notes) (13-8).

Pujols moved into a tie with teammate Lance Berkman(notes) for the National League
lead with 28 homers and added three singles to up his average to .284.

“The last couple of days, no hits,” Pujols said. “Today, four hits. What
did I change? Nothing.

“I’m just trying to be consistent like I have. I think anyone would love to
have those numbers I have after 100-plus games.”

Chris Carpenter (8-8) gave up 10 hits in eight innings, but shut down the
Brewers after they scored twice in the first. Fernando Salas(notes) finished for his
22nd save in 25 opportunities.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa stopped short of calling it a must-win game,
but was pleased with the effort.

“Do or die is the last couple of weeks when the numbers are staring you in
the face,” La Russa said. “There was a lot of urgency today. We beat a very
good pitcher.”

Mark Kotsay(notes), subbing for All-Star slugger Ryan Braun(notes), reached three times
and had an RBI double for Milwaukee. Prince Fielder(notes) had a run-scoring single to
give him 88 RBIs.

“I think we had a great road trip,” Fielder said. “We had a great series
here. I think we played good baseball tonight as well.”

After last week’s series in Milwaukee, which featured ejections and warnings
for hit batters, this three-game set was fairly tame. The only thing close to an
outburst came in the top of the eighth inning when all four umpires gathered
briefly near third base and sent the Milwaukee bench a message.

“(There were) just some comments that were made from a couple of players,”
Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said. “They were telling me to keep one of our
players quiet.”

Rafael Furcal(notes) got St. Louis off to a fast start with a leadoff drive to
right in the first. After Gallardo fanned Jon Jay(notes), Pujols hit a tying drive over
the wall in center.

St. Louis took its first lead of the series in the third with some help from
the Brewers. Second baseman Felipe Lopez(notes) booted Furcal’s ground ball leading off
the inning, allowing him to reach first. Furcal was forced at second by Jay, but
Pujols and Berkman followed with singles to plate Jay.

That same combination worked again in the fifth when Jay singled to right
with two out, stole second and scored on Pujols’ single to center. Pujols moved
to third on Berkman’s single to right and came home on a wild pitch to make it
5-2.

“Obviously, it’s a nice win,” Carpenter said. “We needed this one. I went
out and gave up the two early and we got the two right back and started over
again. That was key.”

Gallardo gave up five runs, four earned, and seven hits in five innings.

“I just left the ball up,” he said. “That first inning, a curveball up in
the zone (to Pujols). He’s a good hitter. He’s going to take advantage of those
mistakes.”

NOTES: Furcal’s leadoff homer was the 27th of his career. … Milwaukee will
start a seven-game homestand Friday when it begins a three-game series with the
Pirates. The Brewers are a major league-best 41-15 at home. … Cardinals OF
Matt Holliday(notes) was out of the lineup for a second straight game with back
tightness. … Milwaukee’s Frankie De La Cruz(notes), who was called up earlier in the
day to replace Chris Narveson(notes) on the roster, pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
… Cardinals C Yadier Molina(notes) extended his hitting streak to 14 games with an
eighth-inning single.

Read More: Edwin Jackson (P – STL), Rafael Furcal (SS – STL), Casey McGehee (3B – MIL), St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers

Rafael Furcal’s home run wasn’t enough to counteract the four fellow acquisition Edwin Jackson allowed as the St. Louis Cardinals dropped Wednesday’s game and the three-game series to the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers. Casey McGehee homered three times for the Brewers, who opened up a 3.5 game advantage on the Cardinals with their 10-5 win. 

A day after the Cardinals pulled out an improbable extra-innings win Jackson went seven innings despite the bloodbath, helping out the bullpen in yet another way after sending Kyle McClellan, Octavio Dotel, and Mark Rzepczynski back there when he was acquired in the Colby Rasmus trade.

McGehee, in the midst of a lost year, had homered just five times all season before running into Jackson on Wednesday. 108 games into the season he managed to raise his slugging percentage 20 points after the outburst. The home run was Rafael Furcal’s second of the year, and pushed his batting average up to .205 after a season spent below the Mendoza Line. 

CBSSports.com wire reports
Aug. 3, 2011

MILWAUKEE — Manager Ron Roenicke wants Casey McGehee to play a big role in the Brewers’ offense, not try to carry the club. McGehee did both Wednesday.

The Brewers third baseman homered three times and Milwaukee rallied to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5 and add to their NL Central lead.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had three in a game ever. It’s something I’ll definitely remember. It was kind of one of those out of body experiences,” McGehee said. “It was nice, especially to be able to sit back and enjoy it that we were able to win the game.”

McGehee hit go-ahead, two-run homers in both the first and third innings and added a seventh-inning solo shot to give Milwaukee its eighth win in nine games at Miller Park. Corey Hart also homered for the Brewers, who extended their lead over the Cardinals to 3 ½ games in the division.

Rafael Furcal hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs off Randy Wolf (8-8) in his fourth game since being acquired Sunday in a trade with the Dodgers, but new Cardinals starter Edwin Jackson struggled.

Jackson (1-1) made his second start with St. Louis since being acquired in a three-team trade with the White Sox. He gave up 10 runs — eight earned — and allowed 14 hits over seven innings of extended work because of St. Louis’ worn-down bullpen following an 11-inning win on Tuesday.

“We’re playing 20 in a row,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “We needed to get as deep in his allotment today as he could. He took it for us. We appreciate it.”

David Freese singled in a run to give St. Louis a 1-0 lead in the first. Hart homered to start the bottom of the inning and McGehee hit a two-out, two-run home run to make it 3-1.

Furcal’s three-run homer — his first in a Cardinals uniform — gave St. Louis a 4-3 lead in the second, but McGehee answered again with another two-run homer in the third to put Milwaukee ahead for good, 5-4. McGehee’s second homer was hit so hard that left fielder Matt Holliday never moved to try and chase it.

The Brewers pulled away from there, improving to a majors-best 41-15 at home this season.

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina cost St. Louis two unearned runs when Ryan Braun scored on a passed ball in the fifth, and George Kottaras scored from third to make it 9-5 after Molina threw a ball into center field trying to catch Hart stealing in the sixth.

McGehee followed with a solo shot in the seventh for the final margin and came out for a curtain call. The third baseman appears to be breaking out of his season-long slump. He’s hitting .351 with 12 RBI over his last 15 games to lift his batting average from .221 to .240.

“He puts more on himself than maybe he should. He’s not the guy that’s going to carry this team,” Roenicke said. “He’s a huge part in that offense and I don’t ever want him thinking if he’s not doing his part, that’s the reason why we’re not winning because he’s big for us, but so are a lot of other guys.”

The Brewers need a hitter in the fifth spot to protect Prince Fielder since Rickie Weeks went out of the lineup with a severely sprained ankle and may need up to six weeks to recover.

“I feel like the guys in here have definitely stood by me, had confidence in me,” McGehee said. “I think especially with Rick being out, we’ve all got to kind of band together, pick up the slack because that’s something that’s really tough to replace.”

It was a heated series throughout and could be a prelude of things to come — the teams square off nine more times this season with a three-game matchup beginning Tuesday in St. Louis.

“We’ve got a lot of baseball left, by no means, no matter what happened in this series was going to be the nail in the coffin either way,” McGehee said. “We’ve got a lot of work left to do, but we’re definitely, I feel like, on the right track.”

Milwaukee won Monday’s opener 6-2 and the Cardinals complained about the LED ribbon scoreboards around Miller Park giving the home team an unfair lighting advantage. The Cardinals took Tuesday’s game 8-7 in 11 after bean ball warnings were issued to both benches in the seventh. Furcal saved the game with a catch in the ninth, Molina confronted umpire Rob Drake and was ejected in the 10th and Lance Berkman won it with a two-out hit in the 11th.

Molina and the Cardinals had not heard what discipline the All-Star catcher might receive for his actions with Drake.

Albert Pujols played after being hit by a pitch on Tuesday night near where he broke his left wrist earlier this season. He finished 0 for 5 with two strikeouts.

“He’ll never admit to anything. It is what it is,” La Russa said. “I’m sure he’s sore. No excuses.”

Notes

• Roenicke said crew chief Gary Darling asked both managers to come to the plate to exchange the lineups pregame after the theatrics of Tuesday night. “[He] told us `Hey, let’s just play baseball,”‘ Roenicke said.
• McGehee is the 11th player in franchise history to hit three homers in a game.
• The Brewers agreed to terms with LHP Randy Flores on a minor-league contract.
• The Cardinals continue their seven-game road trip with a weekend series in Florida. St. Louis will send RHP Kyle Lohse [9-7, 3.33 ERA] to face Marlins RHP Anibal Sanchez [6-4, 3.74 ERA].
• Milwaukee has Thursday off.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Manager Ron Roenicke wants Casey McGehee to play a big role in the Brewers’ offense, not try to carry the club. McGehee did both Wednesday.

The Brewers third baseman homered three times and Milwaukee rallied to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5 and add to their NL Central lead.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had three in a game ever. It’s something I’ll definitely remember. It was kind of one of those out of body experiences,” McGehee said. “It was nice, especially to be able to sit back and enjoy it that we were able to win the game.”

McGehee hit go-ahead, two-run homers in both the first and third innings and added a seventh-inning solo shot to give Milwaukee its eighth win in nine games at Miller Park. Corey Hart also homered for the Brewers, who extended their lead over the Cardinals to 3 1/2 games in the division.

Rafael Furcal hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs off Randy Wolf (8-8) in his fourth game since being acquired Sunday in a trade with the Dodgers, but new Cardinals starter Edwin Jackson struggled.

Jackson (1-1) made his second start with St. Louis since being acquired in a three-team trade with the White Sox. He gave up 10 runs — eight earned — and allowed 14 hits over seven innings of extended work because of St. Louis’ worn-down bullpen following an 11-inning win on Tuesday.

“We’re playing 20 in a row,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “We needed to get as deep in his allotment today as he could. He took it for us. We appreciate it.”

David Freese singled in a run to give St. Louis a 1-0 lead in the first. Hart homered to start the bottom of the inning and McGehee hit a two-out, two-run home run to make it 3-1.

Furcal’s three-run homer — his first in a Cardinals uniform — gave St. Louis a 4-3 lead in the second, but McGehee answered again with another two-run homer in the third to put Milwaukee ahead for good, 5-4. McGehee’s second homer was hit so hard that left fielder Matt Holliday never moved to try and chase it.

The Brewers pulled away from there, improving to a majors-best 41-15 at home this season.

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina cost St. Louis two unearned runs when Ryan Braun scored on a passed ball in the fifth, and George Kottaras scored from third to make it 9-5 after Molina threw a ball into center field trying to catch Hart stealing in the sixth.

McGehee followed with a solo shot in the seventh for the final margin and came out for a curtain call. The third baseman appears to be breaking out of his season-long slump. He’s hitting .351 with 12 RBIs over his last 15 games to lift his batting average from .221 to .240.

“He puts more on himself than maybe he should. He’s not the guy that’s going to carry this team,” Roenicke said. “He’s a huge part in that offense and I don’t ever want him thinking if he’s not doing his part, that’s the reason why we’re not winning because he’s big for us, but so are a lot of other guys.”

The Brewers need a hitter in the fifth spot to protect Prince Fielder since Rickie Weeks went out of the lineup with a severely sprained ankle and may need up to six weeks to recover.

“I feel like the guys in here have definitely stood by me, had confidence in me,” McGehee said. “I think especially with Rick being out, we’ve all got to kind of band together, pick up the slack because that’s something that’s really tough to replace.”

It was a heated series throughout and could be a prelude of things to come — the teams square off nine more times this season with a three-game matchup beginning Tuesday in St. Louis.

“We’ve got a lot of baseball left, by no means, no matter what happened in this series was going to be the nail in the coffin either way,” McGehee said. “We’ve got a lot of work left to do, but we’re definitely, I feel like, on the right track.”

Milwaukee won Monday’s opener 6-2 and the Cardinals complained about the LED ribbon scoreboards around Miller Park giving the home team an unfair lighting advantage. The Cardinals took Tuesday’s game 8-7 in 11 after bean ball warnings were issued to both benches in the seventh. Furcal saved the game with a catch in the ninth, Molina confronted umpire Rob Drake and was ejected in the 10th and Lance Berkman won it with a two-out hit in the 11th.

Molina and the Cardinals had not heard what discipline the All-Star catcher might receive for his actions with Drake.

Albert Pujols played after being hit by a pitch on Tuesday night near where he broke his left wrist earlier this season. He finished 0 for 5 with two strikeouts.

“He’ll never admit to anything. It is what it is,” La Russa said. “I’m sure he’s sore. No excuses.”