Rosenthal gives up late homer, Brewers beat Cardinals 6-4
ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal has been among the hardest pitchers in baseball to homer against over the last few years.
Domingo Santana got him for a rare one Wednesday night, and it cost St. Louis.
Santana hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off Rosenthal in the ninth inning, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cardinals 6-4.
Santana pounded a 98 mph pitch from Rosenthal (0-1) with two out. It was the first homer allowed by Rosenthal this season and the 12th of his three-plus year career. Since the start of 2013, Rosenthal had allowed the sixth fewest home runs per nine innings (0.37) heading into Wednesday.
"I made a mistake over the middle that he was ready to hit," Rosenthal said. "And he put a good swing on it."
Santana drilled an 0-1 offering 440 feet to center, the longest of his nine major league home runs.
"Just looking for a heater, that was pretty much my approach," Santana said. "It felt good. It even felt better because we won the ball game."
Kirk Nieuwenhuis started the two-out rally with a walk. All of the Brewers' runs came with two away.
"Timely hitting tonight in big spots," Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. "We got the big hits when we needed them."
Milwaukee had lost five of its previous seven in St. Louis.
Jeremy Jeffress pitched the ninth for his fourth save. He has not allowed a run in five relief appearances this season.
St. Louis' Brandon Moss tied the game 4-4 with a leadoff, pinch-hit homer in the eighth off reliever Michael Blazek (1-0). It was the Cardinals' fourth pinch-hit homer this season, matching their total from last year.
"It's just one of those things where we're just getting some pitches I guess and putting good swing on them," Moss said. "It isn't like you go up there when you're pinch hitting with your approach to hit a home run, because if you do that's a pretty bad approach."
Lucroy had three hits and drove in two runs for the Brewers, and Chris Carter had a run-scoring double.
Lucroy had all three of his hits off starter Mike Leake and is 15 for 32 in his career against the right-hander. Lucroy, who has hit safely in all seven games this season, doubled in the first to give his team a 1-0 lead.
"He's tough for me," Leake said. "I'm going to have to study him extra hard for next time. I like competing against him."
Randal Grichuk had a two-run double in the first for the Cardinals, who ended a four-game winning streak.
Milwaukee starter Chase Anderson bounced back after giving up three unearned runs in the first. He allowed three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four over six innings.
"I felt good coming out of the bullpen, so I knew it was going to be a good night for me," Anderson said. "I just tried to do my job to keep us in the game and good things happen when you do that."
Leake gave up four runs and eight hits over six innings.
The Cardinals had scored 10 or more runs in each of their previous three games.
Milwaukee infielder Scooter Gennett went 0 for 4 after hitting safely in his previous 16 games in St. Louis.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cardinals: LHP Marco Gonzales will have Tommy John surgery Friday and will be lost for the rest of the season.
Gonzales, selected by St. Louis in the first round of the 2013 draft, had just one major league appearance last season. He was plagued by a left pectoral injury.
"He's certainly disappointed," St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak said. "He feels he will come back better and stronger."
UP NEXT
Cardinals: LHP Jaime Garcia (0-0, 6.00) will start the finale of the three-game series on Thursday. Garcia is 10-3 in his career in April starts.
Brewers: RHP Wily Peralta (0-1, 9.00) will make his third start of the season. He is 4-8 with a 4.74 ERA in 13 starts against St. Louis