ST. LOUIS (AP) - Milwaukee’s Keon Broxton is quickly gaining a reputation at Busch Stadium. His tape measure home run Thursday night furthered that narrative.
Broxton and Eric Thames homered to lift the Milwaukee Brewers to a 6-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Thames’ 18th of the season off Cardinals closer Seung Hwan Oh (1-3) in the ninth barely skimmed over the right field wall and broke a 4-4 tie as the NL Central-leading Brewers won their second straight series against the Cardinals and improved to 36-32. Milwaukee had gone 0-15-2 in the previous 17 series.
Broxton drilled the first pitch he saw 489 feet into the left field seats to tie the game 2-2 in the second. It is the longest home run in Busch Stadium III’s history and the second-longest this season in the major leagues.
“I was shocked. I’m blessed to be able to do that,” Broxton said. “There’s a lot of players that came through this ballpark and hit a lot of home runs here, so for mine to be the longest is definitely a blessing.”
Broxton is hitting .450 (9 for 20) with three homers and seven RBIs in six games this season at Busch Stadium.
“In BP he hit a ball the same distance, the same spot,” Thames said. “It was halfway to center field. It was a blast. That homer was like the same exact spot. It was a shot. He’s a strong guy, very lanky. When the ball hits his barrel, he’s a strong cat.”
Domingo Santana’s single scored Eric Sogard to give the Brewers a 3-2 lead in the third.
For the second consecutive start, Brewers right-hander Zach Davies gave up four runs in five innings. He gave up nine hits and struck out one.
Oliver Drake earned his first career save for the Brewers. Josh Hader and Carlos Torres (3-4) combined for three scoreless innings of relief.
“Hats off to those guys in the bullpen tonight,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “Josh, Carlos and Oliver handled big innings in tight situations the whole way, six through nine, they did a heck of a job.”
Stephen Piscotty and Aledmys Diaz had RBI singles to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead in the first.
Dexter Fowler tied it for the Cardinals with a solo home run in the third and again with a single scoring Matt Carpenter in the fifth.
Carpenter doubled in the first and fifth, scoring both times. He has doubled in six straight games.
Michael Wacha struggled again, giving up four runs in four innings. It is the fourth of his last five starts that the Cardinals right-hander failed to go five innings.
The Cardinals have lost three straight and fell to 30-35.
“We’re not a team that should be below .500 and that’s where we are and it’s frustrating and I don’t know how to say it in any other way,” Carpenter said. “This is not something we’re used to and it’s not something we enjoy and it’s not fun.”
MISSED OPPORTUNITY
The Brewers had bases loaded with no outs in the fifth, but only scored once on a single by Travis Shaw. Thames was thrown out at home trying to score from second on Shaw’s hit and Santana was thrown out at home on a safety squeeze.
“Only getting one run in that inning was frustrating for sure, but the bullpen gave us the momentum back it felt like by putting up zeros and giving the offense a chance,” Counsell said.
PINBALL WIZARD
Yadier Molina was retired on a rare 3-4-1 play in the eighth. His grounder went off Thames’ glove, but Sogard barehanded the deflection and threw to Torres to get Molina at first.
FACES IN THE CROWD
Actor and comedian George Lopez was on the field during batting practice interviewing players about their superstitions for a segment in his upcoming show.
TRAINING ROOM
Brewers: OF Ryan Braun (left calf strain) fielded balls in left field during batting practice, but there is no timetable for a return.
Cardinals: INF Paul DeJong was recalled from Triple-A Memphis and 2B Kolten Wong (right triceps strain) was placed on the 10-day DL.
UP NEXT
Brewers: RHP Junior Guerra (1-1, 2.45 ERA) will make his sixth start as the team returns home for a three-game set against San Diego and RHP Miguel Diaz (1-1, 6.92 ERA). He is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA in two career starts against the Padres.
Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (5-5, 2.95 ERA) will kick off a three-game series at Baltimore and RHP Kevin Gausman (3-5, 6.49 ERA). His 1.93 Interleague ERA is the fifth-lowest in MLB history (minimum eight starts).
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