Milwaukee Brewers’ Owen Miller heads to first on a two-run single during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday in St. Louis. (Photo courtesy of Associated Press)
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Owen Miller broke a scoreless tie with a two-run single and Colin Rea tossed five shutout innings to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 2-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
Milwaukee has won four in a row and swept a three-game series in St. Louis for the first time since Sept. 24-26, 2018.
Sonny Gray stuck out 12 batters over 6 1/3 innings for the Cardinals, who have lost four in a row.
Rea gave up five hits over five-plus innings and left after walking Paul Goldschmidt to begin the sixth.
“After the first couple innings I really started attacking the strike zone,” Rea said. “I was kind of overthrowing to start the game, trying to make perfect pitches, and we just went back to attacking the strike zone.”
Miller, who was recalled from Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday, hit a two-run single in the seventh after Blake Perkins and Brice Turang singled with one out.
“It felt pretty good to sweep them and get a win like that,” Miller said. “To capitalize on a game where Sonny Gray was pitching the way he did, that’s pretty special.”
Miller snapped an eight-game hitless string dating back to last season.
“To get called up, get his first start and get a huge hit, that says a lot about him,” Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said,
Gray, who signed as a free agent on Nov. 27, allowed five hits and gave up his first two runs of the season. Gray (2-1) struck out 20 batters before giving up his first walk of the season to Joey Ortiz in the fifth.
Reliver Bryan Hudson, who grew up in the St. Louis suburb of Alton, Illinois, retired all seven batters he faced following Rea. Hudson struck out four and picked up his first career win.
The left-hander gave out 70 tickets among family and friends. He spent his childhood attending Cardinals games and even played at Busch Stadium while in high school.
“Once I got out there and took a second and took it all in, then it was back to work,” Hudson said. “Walking off, it was a very cool moment.”
Closer Joel Payamps picked up his third save in five opportunities.
Perkins turned in the defensive play of the game by reaching over the fence in center to rob Lars Nootbaar of a home run in the first.
“That’s the game right there,” Rea said. “That’s our defense. Every night they’re at their best.”
St. Louis catcher Willson Contreras extended his career-best hitting streak to 14 games with a first-inning single. It is the longest current run in the major and is second this season behind Marcell Ozuna of Atlanta, who had a 17-game streak snapped Saturday.
The Cardinals have dropped eight of their last nine to their NL Central rivals.
“We got swept, you’ve got to have a short memory,” Contreras said. “Move on, look forward to the next game.”
The Brewers improved to a major-league best 9-2 in day games this season. They are 10-2 on the road.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: RHP Andre Pallante was sent to Triple-A Memphis where he will move into the starting rotation. Pallante fashioned an 0-1 record with a 6.30 ERA in nine relief appearances with the Cardinals.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: RHP Lance Lynn (1-0, 2.18) takes on Arizona RHP Brandon Pfaat (1-1, 5.32) in the opener of a three-game set in St. Louis on Monday. Lynn has posted quality starts in nine of 12 career starts against the Diamondbacks.
The first pitch at Busch Stadium is scheduled for 6:45. Monday’s game can be heard on KTLO-AM. The broadcast begins at 5:50 with Ameren Total Access.
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