A 4-0 lead wasn’t enough for the Cardinals on Tuesday. Starter Jeff Suppan and the bullpen let the four-spot slip through their fingers in a 5-4 loss to the Brewers at Busch Stadium.
Bill E. Hall proved to be the hero for Milwaukee. With the Cardinals leading 4-3, he drove in the game-tying and winning runs with a two-out double to score Geoff Jenkins and Damian Miller in the eighth inning off reliever Julian Tavarez.
The Cardinals, as they have often this season, built a lead in the early innings of the game. Albert Pujols belted his 25th homer of the season, a two run shot, off Brewers’ starter Doug David (10-7) in the first inning.
In the third inning, Scott Rolen gave St. Louis a 3-0 advantage with a sacrifice fly to score So Taguchi. Einar Diaz extended the lead to 4-0 by singling in Hector Luna with a single in the fourth inning.
Cardinals’ starter Jeff Suppan (9-7) lost his shut out in the fifth inning by allowing an RBI double to Russell Branyan and an RBI single to Brady Clark. Suppan served up a lead-off home run to Lyle Overbay in the sixth inning, but got Carlos Lee, Jenkins and Miller out in order after that and still led 4-3, in line for the victory.
The loss halted St. Louis’ winning streak at five games. Their loss combined with the Cubs’ 7-3 win over the Reds, cut the Cardinals lead in the National League Central to 12 games over Chicago.
