Rogers’ grand slam in 9th rallies Brewers past Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals meet the Milwaukee Brewers in the second of a four-game series tonight at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

St. Louis roared out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning.

“That was a huge home run”, Piscotty said.

“When I first got out there and stepped on the mound, the plate looked like it was 100 feet away,”€ Houser said. “It takes the pressure off the offense”. St. Louis will go with right hander John Lackey (13-9, 2.74). The Cardinals entered Saturday with a three-game lead and eight games remaining, and could potentially alter the rotation for the upcoming series at second-place Pittsburgh that starts Monday.

“I don’t know the numbers, but I know he’s got great stuff”, Davis said.

Losing all seven of those kinds of players would be catastrophic for most teams.

Martinez told reporters Friday that he began feeling tightness in the shoulder during his previous start on Sunday against the Cubs, but wanted to “pitch through it”. Since being given consecutive days off for the first time since the break earlier this month, Peralta has driven in seven runs in 10 games.

“Just a real nice stroke and the ball jumping off his bat”, manager Mike Matheny said of Holliday. “We’re just going to have to keep rolling like so many other times this season”. He got that one to the deepest part. It was the first pinch hit grand slam for Milwaukee since Matt Mieske did it against the Twins two decades ago on September 3, 1995.

Lyons will pitch for Carlos Martinez, who is out for the year with a strained shoulder suffered Friday against Milwaukee. I have to make that play. For all his struggles in his lone Major League Baseball start this year, Wagner has otherwise been dominant with Double-A Biloxi.

“We don’t have everybody on the medical staff accessible 24-7”, Matheny said. “When something like that does happen, it does get a little frustrating”.

Martinez flinched after a called first strike to Adam Lind, then left the field with his glove covering his face and in apparent pain.

Milwaukee loaded the bases in the sixth against Lackey with a Schafer single and a pair of walks (one intentional), but Hernan Perez struck out to keep the score at 1-1. It wouldn’t surprise me, for example, if the Brewers tried to ship out Garza’s fat contract if he doesn’t implode again next year. Jean Segura is 6 for 18 with a double versus the St. Louis starter. For Sunday’s game the Brewers start Tyler Cravy who has allowed 45 hits and 25 earned runs while striking out 31 over 37.2 innings for an 0-8 record and a 5.97 ERA.