Ivan Herrera Drives In 3 After Brewers Walk JJ Wetherholt
ivan herrera broke Monday night open at Busch Stadium with a bases-clearing hit after the Brewers intentionally walked JJ Wetherholt, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat Milwaukee 6-3. The swing turned a 1-0 game into a 4-0 lead, then the Cardinals kept enough cushion to finish off their NL Central rival.
Wetherholt Opens The Door
St. Louis had already taken control early. Masyn Winn walked in the bottom of the second inning, Victor Scott II singled him to third, and Wetherholt sent a single into right-center to score Winn for a 1-0 lead.
The fourth inning brought the choice that changed the game. Nathan Church doubled, Pedro Pagés walked, Scott moved both runners to second and third on a sacrifice, and Milwaukee chose to put Wetherholt on base rather than face him with a scoring chance loaded behind him.
Herrera Clears The Bases
Herrera made the move backfire. His hit unloaded the bases and pushed the Cardinals ahead 4-0, a gap that gave them room when the Brewers finally started to chip away.
That cushion mattered because Kyle Leahy had spent most of his outing keeping Milwaukee down. He worked 5 1/3 innings, allowed six hits and one earned run, struck out five, and walked two before trouble arrived in the top of the sixth inning.
Cardinals Answer Each Push
George Soriano allowed a run-scoring single to Luis Rengifo in the sixth, cutting the lead to 4-1, but St. Louis answered in the seventh. Jordan Walker walked, Nolan Gorman singled, and Winn lined a sharp single into right-center to score Walker and make it 5-1 after the inning.
Ryne Stanek then needed just seven pitches to retire the Brewers in order in the top of the eighth, keeping the game under control before the late innings got loose. In another later inning, Victor Scott II ripped a double into left-center and Wetherholt picked up another multi-hit game by driving him in for a 6-1 Cardinals lead.
Graceffo Finishes Under Pressure
Milwaukee made one last push in the closing inning. Gordon Graceffo allowed a double to Jackson Churrio and a 414-foot two-run homer to Turang, then William Contreras singled to center before Riley O'Brien entered and shut the Brewers down.
That left the Cardinals with a win built on the fourth-inning choice to walk Wetherholt and the immediate punishment that followed. For a division game, the sequence mattered as much as the final margin: St. Louis turned Milwaukee’s caution into the inning that separated the teams.
