They say it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity. But if you were a Cardinal fan sweating it out at Busch Stadium Thursday afternoon, you might have been able to stand both, had the Cardinals given a better performance. Instead, and announced crowd of 44,002—most of whom were gone near the end of the game—-watched St. Louis lose 12-7 to the Brewers.
Things got off to a rocky start for the Cardinals, when Gold Glove third baseman Scott Rolen made a throwing error at home plate which led to Milwaukee’s first run. Carlos Lee, who is tied with Albert Pujols and Derrek Lee of the Cubs for the N.L. RBI lead with 78, singled in Lance Overbay in the next at-bat to give the Brewers a 2-0 advantage.
The Brewers eventually took a 5-0 lead before the Cardinals rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Catcher Mike Mahoney drove in two runs with a single and starting pitcher Jason Marquis drove in John Rodriguez with a single. Marquis leads all National League pitchers with a .360 average and eight RBI’s.
But the two-run deficit didn’t last, as the Brewers responded with three runs of their own in the top of the fifth. Geoff Jenkins drove in the second of his three RBI’s with a single, Lee scored on a double play and Russell Branyan hit a home run of Brad Thompson, who relieved Marquis (9-7) earlier in the inning.
The Cardinals went on to score four more runs, but they weren’t enough. Milwaukee had another three run rally in the seventh. They scored in every inning, but the second, sixth and ninth.
