Brewers: Blankity-blank offense shut out again by Cards
By Phil Watson
The Milwaukee Brewers learned once again that if you can’t score, you can’t win. The Crew was shut out for the second consecutive game by the St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park Saturday night, dropping a 3-0 decision.
For the Redbirds (71-39), it was their third straight shutout overall, extended the staff’s scoreless streak to 36 innings and dropped their MLB-best team ERA to a sterling 2.58.
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It was the 14th time this season Milwaukee (47-65) has been blanked this season, the most the Brewers have been shut out since being held scoreless 15 times in 2002.
The team record for being shut out is 20 games, set in 1972.
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Wily Peralta (2-7) was good, allowing three runs on five hits with a walk and two strikeouts in seven innings, but was no match for the work put in by left-hander Jaime Garcia (4-4), who allowed only two hits and four walks while fanning five in seven innings.
Kevin Siegrist worked a scoreless eighth for St. Louis and Trevor Rosenthal finished, striking out the side in order in the ninth for his 33rd save.
Neal Cotts walked one and fanned one in a scoreless eighth for the Brewers and Corey Knebel struck out two in a perfect ninth-inning stint.
Jean Segura led off the game for Milwaukee with a first-inning single and Jonathan Lucroy wiped it out quickly by bouncing into a double play.
Elian Herrera’s leadoff single in the third was the Brewers’ only other hit.
“It’s obvious that the offense is not going to be the same,” Peralta told MLB.com of the team’s lineup after trading away three everyday players late last month. “You’re talking about big names out there. But you can’t think about that. You have to go out there and perform well and put zeros on the board.”
The Cardinals got the only run they would need when Matt Carpenter turned around a 3-2 fastball from Peralta to center field for his 16th home run of the season.
Stephen Piscotty had an RBI single in the second for St. Louis and added another RBI knock in the seventh.
Aug 8, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Wily Peralta (38) pitches in the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
“They’ve got the best staff in baseball,” Lucroy said. “You have to go out there and fight, scratch for every baserunner we got.”
But the former All-Star catcher isn’t in the mood for excuses.
“That’s all over with,” Lucroy said, regarding the trades. “We’re not really worried about that anymore. Just go out there and compete and try to stay competitive as much as you can. It’s a battle, especially when a pitching staff like this rolls in here against us. … You just have to go out there and stay as competitive as you can.”
Jimmy Nelson (9-9, 3.57 ERA) will once again be asked to stop a losing streak when he takes the ball in Sunday’s 1:10 p.m. series finale against right-hander John Lackey (9-7, 2.85).
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Nelson is 0-4 in four lifetime appearances, three starts, against St. Louis, with a 10.43 ERA and 1.977 WHIP in 14.2 innings, striking out 13. He was roughed up in his only outing against the Cardinals this season, surrendering seven runs—six earned—on seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts in five innings of a 7-4 loss at Busch Stadium on June 3.
He hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last three starts, however, including allowing just an unearned tally on three hits in 6.2 innings with a walk and four Ks in a 4-1 win at Miller Park over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.
The 36-year-old Lackey is 4-1 in five career starts against Milwaukee, with a 3.86 ERA and 1.200 WHIP in 35 innings, striking out 28. That includes a 2-0 mark in two starts this season, allowing three runs in 14 innings.
He has lost his last two starts, including a 3-2 decision at Great American Ball Park to the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday when he allowed three runs on six hits in six innings with two walks and five strikeouts.
The Brewers will have an off-day Monday before playing a three-game set in Chicago against the Cubs Tuesday through Thursday.
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