Cardinals' streaks end at hands of Brewers

MILWAUKEE -- Jonathan Broxton knows the dangers of throwing high pitches on warm summer days at Miller Park.

He simply couldn't make the right pitch to Khris Davis.

Davis hit two home runs, including a two-run shot in the eighth inning off his recent teammate, and the Brewers beat St. Louis 5-4 Sunday and ended the Cardinals' four-game winning streak.

Broxton (1-3), traded from Milwaukee to the NL Central leaders July 31, relieved Kevin Siegrist with a runner on second and one out with a 4-3 lead. Davis hit the first pitch into the Cardinals' bullpen for his 11th homer.

"[When] the roof's open and the panels are open, the ball flies here," said Broxton, who pitched in 51 games for Milwaukee over 2014-15. "You really got to focus on getting the ball down. I didn't get that first pitch down. It's away, but it's just up."

St. Louis Cardinals Matt Carpenter watches his three-run home run against the Milwaukee Brewers in the seventh inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2015, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

Davis' fourth home run in four games overcame a big hit by Matt Carpenter. The Cardinals leadoff man hit a three-run homer off Milwaukee starter Jimmy Nelson with two outs in the seventh that gave St. Louis a 4-3 lead.

Carpenter has been sensational since returning to the leadoff spot in the Cardinals order July 30. He has batted .375 with seven home runs, five doubles and 12 runs scored in 10 games.

"He looks a lot like we saw earlier in the season," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. "I think it just proves to him that wasn't necessarily a fluke and what he's got to do to get back into that kind of groove."

Will Smith (5-2) pitched a scoreless eighth. Francisco Rodriguez worked the ninth for his 26th save in 26 chances this year.

Davis earlier hit a two-run homer off Cardinals starter John Lackey.

On Thursday, Davis hit a pair of three-run homers in Milwaukee's 10-1 win over San Diego. He had been held hitless in six at-bats during the first two games of this series, a pair of shutouts for the Cardinals, before breaking loose.

Pinch-hitter Jason Rogers opened the Milwaukee eighth with a single off Siegrist. Shane Peterson's sacrifice bunt moved him to second, and Broxton took over.

Lackey gave up six hits, including a solo homer by Elian Herrera in the third and the drive by Davis, in six innings.

"It's a shame, that one bad inning," Matheny said. "A walk, a homer, he gave up next to nothing all day today. Sixty-six pitches. We didn't have a lot of offensive opportunities. That's tough. Throwing the ball that well and didn't get a lot of offensive support early."

Herrera's home run with one out in the third came one pitch after Jean Segura was caught stealing second base, a play that was confirmed after a challenge by the Brewers.

Jason Heyward hit an RBI single in the sixth for the Cardinals. Nelson allowed four runs on eight hits while striking out eight in seven innings.

Brandon Moss and Stephen Piscotty opened the St. Louis seventh with singles, and Tony Cruz sacrificed. Pinch-hitter Mark Reynolds grounded out but, after a brief conference at the mound, Nelson stayed in the game and Carpenter hit his 16th home run.

Streak ends

Herrera's home run ended the Cardinals' streak of compiling scoreless innings at 38. It also was the first home run allowed by St. Louis pitchers in 62 innings.

Trainer's room

Cardinals: Catcher Yadier Molina was given the day off to rest and Cruz started in his place. Matheny said he made the move because with the off-day today his starting catcher would get two days off.

Up next

Cardinals: The team returns home Tuesday to open a three-game series with their closest NL Central competitor, the Pittsburgh Pirates. The teams have split 10 games this year.

Brewers: Open a three-game series at the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday. It is the only three road games in a 20-game span for the team. The Brewers are 4-7 in the first 11 games of this stretch.