David Eckstein and Jim Edmonds each had two hits in the Cardinals 7-5 win over the Brewers.
Edmond’s two-run double in the first inning gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead. Eckstein also had an RBI with a run-scoring single in the fourth.
Cardinals starter Jeff Suppan was going for his 100th career win. He left the game with a two run lead but didn’t last the necessary five innings to earn the win. Manager Tony LaRussa pulled Suppan after he gave up three home runs and five walks in four innings.
St. Louis used five pitchers out of the bullpen to hold the Brewers scoreless the rest of the game. Josh Hancock pitched 1.1 perfect innings to get credit for the win. Jason Isringhausen earned his National League leading 20th save of the year. He now has 160 career saves in a Cardinals uniform tying a club record with Lee Smith.
The two teams went back-and-forth through four innings. Yadier Molina gave the Redbirds a 3-1 lead in the second after Richie Weeks answered St. Louis’ two-run first inning with a solo homer of his own.
The monkey see, monkey do home run contest continued when Prince Fielder hit a solo shot in the second to bring Milwaukee within one. The lead was pushed back to two on Juan Encarnacion’s RBI ground out in the third.
After Bill Hall homered to make it 4-3, the Cardinals put their biggest inning together with three runs in the fourth. Not to be outdone, the Brewers retaliated with two runs in the bottom half of the fourth, but it wasn’t enough.
St. Louis improves to 37-25 and lead the National League by 1.5 games.
