(TSX / STATS) — MILWAUKEE — When Keon Broxton returned earlier in the week from a brief minor league assignment, some in Milwaukee wondered why the streaky and slumping Broxton was getting playing time ahead of top prospect Lewis Brinson.
Broxton reminded those naysayers of his value Thursday, reaching over the wall to pull back a potential home run, then driving in the eventual winning run with a two-out single as the Brewers won just their second series since the All-Star break with a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park.
“It was awesome to come out today, do something for the team to help these guys out and put ourselves in a position to win,” Broxton said. “I’m just trying to make plays. That’s my job.”
It helped make a winner out of right-hander Matt Garza, who worked into the sixth inning after coming off the disabled list earlier in the day and held St. Louis to a run on four hits and two walks while striking out four over 5 2/3 innings of work.
“Our job is to keep the runs off the board,” Garza (5-5) said. “When we do give them up, we hope our offense picks us up. We’re in a bit of an offensive rut right now but that’s OK; our starters have been doing our job, our bullpen is shortening things up.”
Michael Wacha went four innings for St. Louis, allowing one run — a solo homer by Jesus Aguilar in the third — on five hits and three walks while striking out five.
“The home run to Aguilar hurt him,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “He was 0-2 and worked to 3-2. What we’ve seen is he has been able to get to those counts and then put them away. You are just going to have that some days where they are not chasing the high fastball and not chasing the slow stuff below the zone.”
Aguilar’s 11th home run of the season provided an early lead as Garza retired 11 of his first 12 batters. He finally ran into trouble in the fifth with a pair of walks to open the inning. Garza struck out Stephen Piscotty for the first out and Greg Garcia followed with an RBI single off the glove of second baseman Hernan Perez, tying the game at 1, but Garza escaped when pinch hitter Luke Voit chopped into a double play to end the inning.
“That was huge,” Garza said. “Garcia, (hit it) right outside of Hernan’s glove. That would have saved a run. But being able to bounce-back, we regrouped got the ground ball from Voit to get out of the inning.”
Lefty Brett Cecil (1-4) replaced Wacha to open the fifth. He got off to a good start by striking out Domingo Santana and Aguilar but Milwaukee followed with three straight singles and went ahead on Broxton’s base hit.
“He got two quick strikeouts and the next thing you know three singles in a row,” Matheny said. “He was making really good pitches.”
Jacob Barnes took over for Garza with two on and two outs in the sixth and ended the threat by getting Yadier Molina to fly out to center. Barnes erased a leadoff walk in the sixth with an inning-ending double play and Anthony Swarzak preserved the lead with a scoreless eighth.
The Cardinals threatened in the ninth, putting the go-ahead run on with two out but Corey Knebel struck out Garcia to record his 20th save of the season.
The victory marked the first time the Brewers took a series from the Cardinals at Miller Park since 2012.
NOTES: C Jett Bandy is headed to the disabled list with a fractured rib, Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. … Counsell announced that RHP Brandon Woodruff would start Friday at Tampa in his major league debut. … RHP Wily Peralta and OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis cleared waivers and accepted outright assignments to Triple-A Colorado Springs on Thursday. Milwaukee designated both for assignment over the last week. … Cardinals CF Dexter Fowler (strained arm) has resumed baseball activities back in St. Louis and will rejoin the team when it visits Cincinnati this weekend, manager Mike Matheny said. … 1B Matt Carpenter returned to the Cardinals’ lineup Thursday. He was a late scratch a night earlier because of a sore hip. … The Cardinals are 17-21 in one-ruin games this season.
Photo credit – Dylan Buell / Getty Images / Milwaukee, WI
