ST. LOUIS — A Cardinals offense that had struggled to string together anything of late scored four runs in the first two innings to grab an early lead Saturday afternoon. However, the pitching staff slogged through its worst day of the season and made that early offense a drop in the bucket compared to what the Milwaukee Brewers produced.

The Cardinals couldn’t stop the bleeding in a 12-5 loss to the Brewers in front of an announced crowd of 41,949 at Busch Stadium. The NL Central Division-leading Brewers clinched the series victory with the win.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals (9-12) lost their third game in a row for the first time this season.

The 12 runs and 18 hits allowed by the Cardinals set new season highs.

Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas (1-3) allowed five runs on nine hits, including three home runs, in 4 2/3 innings. He also struck out five, and he left the game with the Cardinals trailing by a run.

The Cardinals bullpen, which entered the day with an ERA of 2.91 and an opponent’s batting average of .227, allowed seven runs in 4 1/3 innings.

Zack Thompson (2/3 inning, three runs), Giovanny Gallegos (2/3 inning, one run) and Andre Pallante (3 innings, three runs) pitched in relief of Mikolas.

Offensively, Paul Goldschmidt (1 for 4), Willson Contreras (1 for 3, walk, run scored) Nolan Arenado (1 for 2) and Brendan Donovan (0 for 3) drove in one run apiece for the Cardinals. Michael Siani went 2 for 3 and logged his first multi-hit game of the season.

Brewers made Mikolas work early

The Brewers (13-6) grabbed an early lead against Mikolas with the help of a William Contreras one-out single and a two-out home run by Rhy Hoskins in the first inning.

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