Cardinals Vs. Brewers Game Recap: St. Louis Beats Milwaukee In Extras, 5-4

The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-4, on Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium thanks to Allen Craig's 10th-inning RBI single. With the win, the Cards avoided a weekend sweep at the hands of the Brewers.

Craig's game-winning hit atoned for Jason Motte's blown save, as the Cardinals closer allowed a game-tying, two-run homer to Norichika Aoki in the top of the ninth. It was Motte's sixth blown save of the season.

Luckily for the Cardinals, Lance Lynn was solid in 10th-inning relief, as he struck out two batters in his lone frame of work, earning his 14th win of the season in the process. Craig and Matt Carpenter were on their games in the 10th as well, as Carpenter singled with one out and advanced on a wild pitch during the next at-bat, allowing him to score from second on Craig's liner to right field.

Jon Jay led the Cards with three hits, while Carpenter and Carlos Beltran had two apiece. One of Beltran's was a home run, his 29th of the season. Matt Holliday also homered, giving him 26 in 2012.

Joe Kelly started the game for St. Louis, and tossed six innings of two-run ball, allowing five hits and two walks while punching out five.

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Brewers Vs. Cardinals: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

The St. Louis Cardinals will attempt to right the ship as they face the Milwaukee Brewers Sunday afternoon. After a 6-3 loss to the Brewers Saturday, the Cardinals have lost three games in a row and hold a 1/2-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Wild Card race.

The Cardinals will hand the ball to right-hander Joe Kelly. The rookie pitcher is 5-6 with a 3.54 ERA in 14 starts with the big league club. He picked up the win in his last start, going 6 2/3 innings and allowing just two runs in a 5-4 victory over the Mets. He last faced Milwaukee Aug. 3, scattering 10 hits over 5 2/3 innings as the Cardinals won 9-3.

Milwaukee turns to Shaun Marcum this afternoon. The veteran starter is making his fourth start after an extended stint on the disabled list for a shoulder injury, and has struggled since his return, giving up seven earned runs in just 14 2/3 innings of work.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. CT. Fox Sports Midwest will handle television coverage, with the radio broadcast available on KMOX 1120.

For more on the Cardinals stick with SB Nation St. Louis or head over to Viva El Birdos. To check out information on the Brewers, take a look at Brew Crew Ball. For more news, notes and analysis from around the league, check out Baseball Nation.

Cardinals Vs. Brewers Game Recap: St. Louis Falls 6-3

the Pittsburgh Pirates lost again to the Chicago Cubs on Saturday, but the St. Louis Cardinals were not able to take advantage and gain some breathing room in the National League Wild Card race. Aramis Ramirez had a solo homer in the ninth and Milwaukee added a second insurance run on a Carlos Gomez single that scored Corey Hart in a 6-3 win over the Cards.

Mike Fiers earned his ninth win of the season for the Brewers by going five innings and striking out five while only giving up one earned run. The Cardinals tacked on single runs in the seventh and eighth, but they couldn't string together enough support for Jake Westbrook, who gave up three earned runs in five innings of work. Westbrook took the loss to fall to 13-11.

St. Louis stays two games ahead of Pittsburgh for the second and final NL Wild Card berth. They are also a half game ahead of the Dodgers.

For more on the Cardinals stick with SB Nation St. Louis or head over to Viva El Birdos. To check out information on the Brewers, take a look at Brew Crew Ball. For more news, notes and analysis from around the league, check out Baseball Nation.

Brewers Vs. Cardinals: Game Time, TV Schedule and More

The St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers will be back at it Saturday night after a rain-delayed, extra-innings start to their three-game series. Jake Westbrook takes the mound for the Red Birds as they look to rebound from a 5-4 loss that occurred after Ryan Braun homered for the Brewers in the 13th inning.

Westbrook is 13-10 on the season with a 3.93 ERA, but has struggled recently. The Cardinals right-hander has allowed 14 runs in his last 15 innings of work. Westbrook's last start did show signs of a bounce back, as he gave up only two runs and struck out six in five and one-thirds innings of work.

The Brewers send rookie Mike Fiers to the hill as Milwaukee looks to continue a late playoff push against their Central Division rivals. Milwaukee currently sits six games back of the Cardinals for the second wild card spot in National League.

First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m. CT and will be televised on Fox Sports Midwest and Fox Sports Wisconsin.

For more on the Cardinals stick with SB Nation St. Louis or head over to Viva El Birdos. To check out information on the Brewers, take a look at Brew Crew Ball. For more news, notes and analysis from around the league, check out Baseball Nation.

Cardinals Vs. Brewers Game Recap: Ryan Braun Crushes Comeback Hopes As Cards Fall, 5-4

There was plenty of offense to go around on Friday night at Busch Stadium, but for the St. Louis Cardinals, there just wasn't enough of it to overcome the Milwaukee Brewers as they fell in extra innings, 5-4.

Ryan Braun hit the game-winning home run in the top of the 13th, a solo shot to left off Lance Lynn, to give the Brewers the victory. Lynn pitched two innings in relief and took the loss for the Cardinals.

Brewers reliever Kameron Loe got out of a bases loaded jam with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning when he induced a groundout to first from pinch-hitter Adron Chambers.

The loss will be even tougher for St. Louis to stomach given what it took to take the game into extra frames.

It took just one swing of the bat, a two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the eighth inning from Yadier Molina off right-hander Jim Henderson, to extend the game for the Cardinals, who fall to 74-64 on the season.

St. Louis starter Kyle Lohse allowed five hits and two earned runs, striking out five while walking just two to keep the game within reach until Molina tied it in the eighth.

Brandon Kintzler got the win for Milwaukee and improved to 1-0. The Cardinals will face the Brewers in Game 2 of the three-game series on Saturday at 6:15 p.m.

For more on the St. Louis Cardinals, check out their team blog, Viva El Birdos. For more in-depth MLB coverage, visit SB Nation's own Baseball Nation.

NL Wild Card Standings: Cards, Braves, Pirates, Dodgers Separated By 1.5 Games Heading Into The Weekend

As the St. Louis Cardinals begin this weekend's three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers, they won't only be looking to gain ground on the N.L. Central leading Cincinnati Reds, but they'll try to distance themselves from the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates, who trail them by just 1.5 games in the NL Wild Card race.

They'll have their hands full this weekend, as the Brewers (who are wrapping up a largely disappointing 2012) have won seven of their last 10 games. The Cardinals have 12 of their 25 remaining games at home, but the most crucial series remaining might be a Sept. 13-16 series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers.

The Atlanta Braves, who sit atop the N.L. Wild Card standings, just fattened up on the lackluster Colorado Rockies by taking three of four games from them in Colorado earlier this week. They open a three-game set on Friday against the New York Mets, who, like the Brewers, have won seven of their last 10 games. The Braves will only play nine of their 24 remaining games at home, and provided the Pirates don't collapse in September, will finish the 2012 season with a three-game series in Pittsburgh which could have serious Wild Card implications.

The Pirates are battling the lowly Chicago Cubs this weekend, while the Dodgers are squaring off against their NL West rivals, the San Francisco Giants.

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Cardinals Vs. Brewers Rain Delay: St. Louis Projects 9:30 PM Start Time

If you were looking forward to catching the St. Louis Cardinals' series-opener against the Milwaukee Brewers Friday night and then turning in early, I have some bad news: The storms in St. Louis have pushed the start time for Kyle Lohse's turn with Yovani Gallardo all the way back to 9:30 PM, which means the action could push past midnight unless one or both of the starters has spend the two-hour delay getting incredibly locked in.

In case you've been ignoring the Brewers all season, it might surprise you to learn just how much they have in common with the Cardinals. (Check out some examples on Viva El Birdos.) In the season after losing their face-of-the-franchise first baseman to free agency, the Brewers' offense hasn't been a problem, but awful bullpen play and the vagaries of chance have pushed them down below their predicted Pythagorean record.

Of course, in the Brewers' case it also pushed them down below .500, which is why the Cardinals are still in contention and the Brewers are all but looking forward to next year.

Brewers Vs. Cardinals: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

In the midst of a close wild card race, the Cardinals will have to slow the hot Brewers to stay ahead of the Dodgers and Pirates.