A groundout and a flyout got Rangel Ravelo as far as third base in the second inning but no farther as the inning ended.
Into the game came righthander Freddy Peralta, and he struck out the side in order in the fifth inning to bring the game to St. Louis native Devin Williams. The rookie with one of the game’s best changeups retired the Cardinals in order, sweeping through the middle of the order without much resistance. He struck out two.
Johan Oviedo pitched into the sixth inning despite allowing four runs in the first inning. Oviedo started in trouble when he hit the first batter of the game with the first pitch. He walked the next batter, and then Braun hit his three-run homer for a lead the Brewers would never have threatened. Oviedo hit three batters, but also got a key double play and did his best to minimize the damage while maximizing the rest the bullpen would get for the doubleheader.
The Cardinals start a five-game, four-day series in Pittsburgh on Thursday. They’ll have another doubleheader — their third of the week — on Friday.
With Cardinals in a bind, pushed the brink of trouble, Wainwright rushes to the rescue, again
Each time the Cardinals have found themselves on the precipice of disaster this season — returning from 17 days of quarantine, a bullpen threadbare from reach use, a losing streak — Adam Wainwright has been the pitcher next up in the rotation.
