MILWAUKEE — An inch or two could have changed the outcome in the Cardinals’ favor on Saturday night, had center fielder Michael Siani been able to steal a home run from Milwaukee Brewers slugger Rhys Hoskins at the wall.
Siani acknowledged the ball did hit part of his glove on the way over the wall.
“You want to contribute with the bat and the glove,†Siani said. “That’s one that I want back. Obviously, I want to make a play there.â€
Less than 24 hours later, Siani came an inch or two away from his first home run in the majors. His blast smacked right down on top of the outfield wall and then bounced back into the field of play. Much like the night before, the replay ran on the huge video board multiple times.
Fortunately for the Cardinals, the ball Siani hit on Sunday went for an RBI double and drove in the deciding run in a 4-3 series-ending win against the Brewers at America Family Field.
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Siani’s seventh-inning double with two outs scored Brendan Donovan, and the Cardinals bullpen allowed just one base runner in the final three innings to secure the win on their way out of town.
First baseman Paul Goldschmidt went 2 for 5 with a home run, and he drove in two of the team’s four runs one day after he snapped the longest hitless drought of his career (0 for 32).
Siani (2 for 4) and Ivan Herrera (2 for 5) also had multi-hit games. Lars Nootbaar walked twice, including one that forced in a run.
The Cardinals (16-24) begin a three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night in Anaheim, California.
“It’s big,†Siani said of the win. “We’re all very positive in here. Everybody is on the same page. We’re going to continue to be that way. We all trust each other, and we know wins are coming. We’re not putting too much pressure on that, but it feels good to get one against these guys before we get out of here.â€
The win stopped a losing slide at seven games for the Cardinals, and it also halted a streak of eight consecutive wins for the Brewers (24-16) against the Cardinals.
The Cardinals avoided being swept in the four-game set and turned around a game that looked as if it could get away from them quickly.
By the top of the third inning, Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas had run into trouble and given up three runs. While the offense had scratched out one run, they’d already left five runners on base.
Then home plate umpire and crew chief Alan Porter ejected Cardinals bench coach Daniel Descalso and manager Oliver Marmol from the game. The former minor league teammates got tossed in the aftermath of a second successful replay review challenge that overturned a call made by first base umpire Sean Barber.
“Alan Porter and Sean Barber are good umpires,†Marmol said. “That (ejection) had more to do with getting something going. Those guys do a nice job. Their job is tough, but at times you’ve got a little skid, get something going. I’ve got nothing against that group.â€
Descalso was ejected for apparently voicing frustration about the umpiring right after the Cardinals had a double play overturned when replay showed Herrera beat a throw at first base.
In the second inning, the Cardinals successfully challenged a safe call on a double play started by second baseman Nolan Gorman and turned by shortstop Brandon Crawford.
Porter ejected Descalso for barking from the dugout, and Marmol darted out onto the field and confronted Porter. Shortly after Marmol reached home plate, Porter ejected Marmol as well. At one point, Marmol and Descalso were on the field yelling at Porter together.
“I don’t know if I’ve seen a bench coach and manager thrown out on the same play in a while, but they’re emotional, too,†Goldschmidt said. “They want us to win, and they’re giving everything they have. Maybe not between the lines — mostly — but we see it in here.â€
Following the ejection, hitting coach Turner Ward took over the lineup card, and pitching coach Dusty Blake made the trip to the mound for a pitching change with one out in the eighth inning.
“We’ve been put through the wringer here early,†Mikolas said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of emotions and tempers flaring. Umpires have a real hard job, but it gets real frustrating when things aren’t going your way, and it seems like the deck can be almost stacked against you sometimes.
“But sometimes you’ve got to let that frustration out and get the boys fired up. I think after they got tossed, we got a little fired up. It’s a nice reminder that they’ve got your back.â€
Mikolas (3-5) showed frustration with multiple ball and strike calls in a three-run first inning for the Brewers. At one point, he glared in at Porter with his hands out at his sides after a walk.
Mikolas threw 42 pitches in the first inning, and he allowed two hits and two walks.
Four consecutive batters reached base with one out in the first thanks to a William Contreras single, a Christian Yelich walk, a fielder’s choice on a slow roller to shortstop where Crawford couldn’t record the out at second base, and a bases-loaded walk by Hoskins.
Both walks featured borderline pitches, but the final pitch to Hoskins appeared clearly inside the top of the zone on the television broadcast. The Hoskins walk forced in the game’s first run, then Joey Ortiz’s ground out drove in a second run.
Gary Sanchez singled to left field to drive in a third run, but left fielder Alec Burleson threw out Hoskins trying to score from second base.
“He was frustrated and was able to regroup,†Marmol said of Mikolas. “He came in here for a little bit, regrouped and then went back out. He was able to settle in and give us six. He did a good job of getting ahead of guys. He was on the ground quite a bit.â€
Mikolas held the Brewers to four hits and one walk during his final five innings. After the 42-pitch first inning, he needed just 53 pitches to get through the rest of his outing. He recorded a quality start and his 10th career win against the Brewers.
“The key was not really changing what I was doing,†Mikolas said. “I was trying to fill up the zone there in the first. A couple close pitches, close calls there, and I just kind of went out there with the same mindset. Just fill up the zone. Try to get some quick contact. Maybe try to put a little extra sink on the ball. Get some ground balls. Let the defense work, and just kind of see what happens.
“At that point if I got out there and I start dancing around the zone, it’s only going to make it worse. The key right there is to just throw a ton of strikes. Either they hit them and get out, or they don’t.â€
The Cardinals put the first two batters of the game on base, but neither advanced past second base.
They scored their first run in the second inning thanks to a bases-loaded walk by Nootbaar, but Goldschmidt’s fly ball to right field ended that inning and left the bases loaded.
The Brewers led 3-1 going into the fifth inning when Goldschmidt mashed a 1-2 fastball over the left-center field wall for his third home run of the season. The homer, Goldschmidt’s first since April 22 in Arizona, made it a one-run game.
In the sixth inning, Goldschmidt tied the scored with a two-out single to left field that drove in Siani. That set the table for Siani’s winning RBI double in the seventh.
“The first couple innings, we had guys on base and mainly myself didn’t get the job done,†Goldschmidt said. “But the attitude there was let’s just try to get another run, get another run, get another run.
“To me that was the thing, looking back on this game, that we did a really good job of. It doesn’t always mean you’re rewarded. I feel like we’ve had other games where we’ve done that, but to be able to get rewarded with a win was nice.â€