Lars Nootbaar went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI as the St. Louis Cardinals edged the visiting Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 on Friday night.
Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore (2-2) allowed two runs, one earned, on five hits in six innings. He struck out four and did not walk a batter.
Kyle Leahy, Phil Maton and Ryan Helsley worked an inning each, with Helsley earned his fourth save in five chances.
Brewers starter Chad Patrick (1-2) allowed two runs on four hits in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out two and walked two.
Milwaukee center fielder Garrett Mitchell departed the game in the fourth inning due to left oblique tightness.
The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning. Brendan Donovan drew a leadoff walk, raced to third on Nolan Arenado’s hit-and-run single and scored on Nolan Gorman’s sacrifice fly.
Arenado advanced to second on the throw home, but Patrick retired the next two batters to strand him.
St. Louis increased its lead to 3-0 in the fifth inning. Masyn Winn hit a one-out single, stole second and took third on a throwing error. Nootbaar greeted reliever Tyler Alexander with an RBI single.
After Willson Contreras hit a double, Donovan’s single drove in Nootbaar, but Contreras was thrown out at the plate.
Liberatore retired 13 straight hitters before allowing Jackson Chourio’s two-out double in the sixth inning. Christian Yelich followed with an RBI single to cut Milwaukee’s deficit to 3-1.
After Arenado dropped Sal Frelick’s foul pop-up leading off the seventh inning, Frelick hit a double. Rhys Hoskins greeted reliever Leahy with a single, and Isaac Collins walked to load the bases.
Pinch hitter Jake Bauers cut the Cardinals’ lead to 3-2 with a run-scoring groundout.
Chourio hit a leadoff single in the eighth inning and went to third on William Contreras’ one-out single. But Arenado threw out Chourio trying to score on Frelick’s chopper to third, and Hoskins struck out to end the threat.
