Bean-balls, extra innings, and a home run from Jaime Garcia all added up to an unlikely win for the St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday, as the Redbirds recovered from an early deficit to pull game two of their series with the Milwaukee Brewers out 8-7. To confuse any time-travelers from the middle of 2010: Lance Berkman drove in the game-winning run, Octavio Dotel picked up the save, and Rafael Furcal made a brilliant catch to send the game into extra innings.
Matt Holliday picked up his 16th home run of the year, Daniel Descalso had three hits, and Yadier Molina doubled before being ejected following an embarrassing outburst after a bad called third strike. Kyle McClellan, the Cardinals' fifth reliever in his return to the bullpen, went 1 1/3 scoreless innings for his eighth win of the year before Dotel closed it out with a strikeout to earn his second save. Garcia allowed 10 hits but struck out six against zero walks in a strange start that also saw him hit the first home run of his Major League career.
The Cardinals returned to 2.5 games out against the Brewers with the win, and will attempt to close the gap further Wednesday afternoon in a series-ending matchup.