Milwaukee Brewers Lyle Overbay swings, hitting a RBI single, scoring Khris Davis from second base in the 11th inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on April 29, 2014. Milwaukee won the game in 11 innings, 5-4. UPI/Bill Greenblatt
Lyle Overbay singled in Khris Davis off Cardinals reliever Kevin Siegrist to score the tiebreaking run as the Brewers beat the Cardinals in extra innings for the second straight night, winning 5-4 in 11 innings Tuesday.
Milwaukee is a major league-best 20-7, two more victories than the previous franchise best for the opening month.
They’re beating the Cardinals with a Band-Aid over their lineup card. Regulars Ryan Braun and Jean Segura didn’t start for the third straight game, Aramis Ramirez missed due to a swollen elbow from getting hit by a pitch, and catcher Jonathan Lucroy got a scheduled day off.
Yadier Molina hit a three-run homer in the first off former battery mate Kyle Lohse and Allen Craig’s RBI triple tied the game at 3-3 in the seventh for the Cardinals, who have lost three of four.
Lohse singled in two runs to help his own cause. Lance Lynn got a no-decision which denied him of tying Babe Ruth for having the best winning percentage among pitchers with at least 10 starts in the first month of the season.
It’s only April and there is certainly plenty of time not to panic, but once Milwaukee does get back their regulars, how much more dangerous can they be? The Cardinals had the knack for jumping out to big leads in April, and we know how difficult it can be to watch teams try to catch up. Now with Milwaukee 6.5 games up on the 14-14 Redbirds, this team is dangerously close to falling into too big of a hole, heading into just the second month of the season.
This bullpen continues to be a big concern, as the Cardinals are now 0-3 in extra inning games and 4-5 in one-run ball games. Those are trends that raise red flags. The good news…after Wednesday afternoon’s finale, the Redbirds fly to Chicago to face the Cubs.