Cardinals 3 - 0 Brewers
Final
  for this game

Cardinals try to extend Brewers' poor start

Apr 24, 2015 - 2:49 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The NL Central's best and worst square off Friday in the opener of a three-game series, as the St. Louis Cardinals visit the Milwaukee Brewers this weekend at Miller Park.

The Cardinals lead the Central with a 10-4 mark and the Brewers are keeping the division doormats warm at 3-13.

St. Louis took two of three games from the Washington Nationals to open a six- game road trip and grabbed a series win with Thursday's 4-1 victory. The visitors plated a pair of runs in the top of the eighth inning to produce the final margin and Mark Reynolds stroked a pinch-hit RBI double before scoring on a throwing error.

Matt Carpenter and Jason Heyward both finished 2-for-4 with a run scored and starting pitcher Michael Wacha lifted his record to 3-0, tossing seven innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts and two walks. Wacha outdueled Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, who allowed two runs over seven innings.

"I thought he had everything (working) as much as he's had everything so far this season," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of Wacha. "Everything looked very sharp."

Jordan Walden and Trevor Rosenthal each hurled a scoreless inning of relief. Rosenthal has six saves on the season.

Carpenter is batting .429 (18-for-42) with 11 runs scored and 10 RBI over a 10-game hitting streak for the Cardinals, who have won seven of eight games and are 4-0-1 in series play.

Cards catcher Yadier Molina did not play Thursday and should be back tonight.

Carlos Martinez looks to keep the Cardinals rolling when he takes the mound Friday and is 1-0 with a 2.08 earned run average in three games (2 starts). He won his last outing on Saturday in a 5-2 victory over Cincinnati, tossing six innings of one-run ball and scattering three hits.

Martinez, a right-hander, has faced Milwaukee 12 times (1 start) in his career and is 0-1 with a 1.96 ERA.

The Brewers salvaged the finale of a four-game series versus the Cincinnati Reds with Thursday's 4-2 triumph. Jean Segura's RBI single in the bottom of the seventh broke a 2-2 tie and Ryan Braun scored on a fielding error in the eighth for an insurance run.

"Absolutely," Segura said when asked if a win despite a series loss provided relief. "When you win, you have good momentum and a good feeling. That's baseball. When you have those negative games, you have to keep battling until you win."

Adam Lind went 3-for-4 with a home run and Aramis Ramirez added a solo shot for the Brewers, who had a 10-4 advantage in hits and snapped an eight-game losing streak.

Kyle Lohse recorded his first win of the season (1-3) by holding the Reds to two runs in seven innings. Jonathan Broxton struck out three in the eighth and Francisco Rodriguez worked around a hit in the ninth for his second save.

Taking the mound for Milwaukee in Friday's series opener will be Matt Garza. He is 1-2 with a 5.40 earned run average and was tagged for five runs in six innings of a 5-2 loss at Pittsburgh on Sunday. Garza was coming off a win at St. Louis on April 13, when he gave up two runs -- one earned -- in 5 2/3 innings of a 5-4 victory.

Garza, a right-hander, is 4-3 with a 4.03 ERA in 11 career starts against the Cardinals.

Milwaukee lost two of three games at St. Louis from April 13-16.






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