 allowed three hits to earn his fourth win in his last five starts. The right-hander, who went 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA in six September starts, struck out five and walked one among 101 pitches.''He's had a good season,'' Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. ''He's a good pitcher. The breaking ball was working and he didn't make a lot of mistakes. Just your typical solid outing.'' Vogt, who was acquired off waivers from the Oakland Athletics in late June, had two hits, including his 12th homer, and drove in three runs.John Gant (0-1), who was making his second start of the season, allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings. He struck out three and walked three.The Brewers scored first, with Vogt's RBI single to left field scoring Travis Shaw in the second inning.Vogt made it 2-0 with a home run, his 12th, to right field in the fourth inning.Cardinals rookie shortstop Paul DeJong hit his 25th home run in the fourth. The home run was the 38th of the season for DeJong, who hit 13 for Triple-A Memphis before being promoted to the Cardinals.The Brewers added two runs in the sixth, on a groundout by Vogt and a fielder's choice by shortstop Orlando Arcia, to make it 4-1.Eric Thames drove in a run with a single to right in the ninth for the Brewers.Jose Martinez hit a two-run home run, his 14th, off Brewers closer Corey Knebel with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.BLUES HONOREDThe St. Louis Blues were introduced before the game, with leading scorer Vladimir Tarasenko throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. The Cardinals wore Blues-themed jerseys for batting practice.TRAINER'S ROOMBrewers: 1B Thames returned to the lineup after not playing Thursday. He bruised his right foot with a foul ball on Wednesday. ... C Manny Pinna (strained left thumb) missed his seventh consecutive game.Cardinals: C Yadier Molina (concussion protocol), 1B Matt Carpenter (shoulder), RHP Adam Wainwright (elbow), LHP Tyler Lyons (knee) have been shut down for the remainder of the season, the team announced. ... 2B Kolten Wong (lower back tightness) was not in the lineup for his consecutive straight game.UP NEXTBrewers: RHP Junior Guerra (1-4, 4.90) is 1-2 with a 4.76 ERA in three career starts against the Cardinals.Cardinals: RHP Luke Weaver (7-2, 3.23) will make his first start since allowing eight runs in three innings against the Cubs on Sept. 25. That loss snapped a string of seven consecutive victories for the rookie.)
Brewers visit Cardinals with hopes of extending road trip 6h ago• 3 min read ST. LOUIS -- Craig Counsell had a simple instruction for his Milwaukee Brewers players as they left for St. Louis and the start of the final series of the regular season."I told the guys last night to pack for 10 days," the Brewers manager said Thursday. "That's what we have to plan on. Pack for 10 days, or you can pack for three and run out of clothes. I don't care, but we are going to be gone for 10 days." Counsell might be a little more optimistic of that occurring than the odds would indicate, but at least as the Brewers open their three-game series against the Cardinals on Friday night, they still have a chance of catching the Colorado Rockies for the second National League wild-card spot.The Brewers' 4-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday left Milwaukee two games behind the Rockies with three to play. The Rockies, who had the day off Thursday, host the Los Angeles Dodgers for three games over the weekend.Either the Rockies or the Brewers will advance to the NL wild-card game, which will be played Wednesday against the Diamondbacks in Arizona.Counsell has instilled a belief in his players that they are not out of the race, even if the odds might be stacked against them."You don't get these opportunities every year in your career as a player," Counsell said. "You think you might. When you get one your first year you think you are going to have it every year. You don't get these every year. You value them."Really, we're in no different of a spot than where we've been all season. We're in the same spot. I feel like we've thrived in this position all year, so why not now?"The Cardinals had hoped to still be trying to catch the Rockies as well, but their 11th-inning, 2-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Thursday night eliminated them from the race. It is the second consecutive year St. Louis will be spending October at home.Friday night will be the first time since 2010 that the Cardinals play a game after being eliminated from the playoffs."I always stand up here and tell you I think we're just a few games or something happening away from having things work out and we can still achieve what we want to achieve," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "This is the first time I have to stand up here and say that's not going to happen."We fell short of what we wanted to do." The Brewers will start Chase Anderson on Friday against the Cardinals' John Gant, making only his second start since he was recalled from Triple-A Memphis at the start of September.Anderson (11-4, 2.81 ERA) is 1-0 with a 3.78 ERA in three starts against St. Louis this year. In eight career starts vs. the Cardinals, he is 1-2 with a 2.95 ERA.Gant (0-0, 3.65 ERA) was lifted after three innings in his start Sunday in Pittsburgh, having allowed one run on three hits. Gant, who also started seven games for the Atlanta Braves last year, will be making his first career appearance against the Brewers.Counsell has not tried to figure out the exact combination of Milwaukee wins and Colorado losses it will take for his team to win the last playoff spot. He is just hoping whatever it takes happens."That's the easiest way to do it," he said. "We're baseball players. We're not math guys."
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