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.

Contreras, who entered the day batting .361, lined a single to left field for the game’s first hit of the day. Two batters later, Hoskins crushed a 1-0 slider from Mikolas located about belt high and over the inner third of the plate. Mikolas dropped his head and slumped over almost immediately after Hoskins made contact. The homer, Hoskins’ fourth of the season, traveled an estimated 399 feet.

The Brewers threatened to score additional runs in the second inning after a leadoff double to left-center field by Gary Sanchez. The next batter, Blake Perkins, got hit by a pitch after he squared around and briefly showed a bunt attempt.

Mikolas worked out of the inning with help from his defense. Catcher Ivan Herrera fielded Brice Turang’s bunt and made a throw on the run to get the lead runner at third base for the first out of the inning. Mikolas then struck out Jackson Chourio swinging for the second out.

The Cardinals appeared to have gotten the third out of the inning when Sal Frelick grounded to Goldschmidt at first base, and Goldschmidt flipped to Mikolas covering first base. However, replay review overturned the out call and left the bases loaded.

Siani, playing center field, made a leaping catch on a ball driven to the wall by William Contreras to end the inning and keep the Brewers from scoring in the second inning.

No Hall pass from the Cardinals

The Cardinals scored four runs on five hits against Brewers starting pitcher D.L. Hall. The left-hander also walked five batters in 3 2/3 innings.

The Cardinals, who had scored three runs or fewer in 14 of their 20 games, scored three runs in the second inning against the left-hander Hall. They collected three hits in the inning, including a leadoff double by Lars Nootbaar, a bunt single by Siani that loaded the bases and an RBI single by Willson Contreras that deflected off the glove of Brewers second baseman Turang. Contreras extended his hitting streak to 13 consecutive games, and he has reached base in 25 straight games dating back to last season.

They also scored a run on a Donovan sacrifice fly and a Goldschmidt groundout.

The three-run inning gave the Cardinals a 4-2 advantage. They scored a run in the first via an Arenado two-out RBI double.

Hall entered the day having three starts this season, and the Brewers had gone 2-1 in his starts. His previous start came against his former team, the Baltimore Orioles, last Saturday in Baltimore. He allowed five runs on eight hits, including three home runs, in 3 1/3 innings, but the Brewers won, 11-5.

Hall came to the Brewers as part of a trade that sent former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes to the Orioles on Feb. 1.

Fireworks in the fourth

Mikolas gave up two more home runs in the fourth, including a two-run blast by Turang.

Turang’s second home run of the season came with Perkins aboard after a leadoff double. That tied the score 4-4, and the next batter, Chourio, swatted a go-ahead solo home run over the right field wall.

The Brewers’ three home runs in the first four innings gave them an NL-best 27 home runs this season.

Mikolas made it through the inning, but left-hander Thompson took over in relief with two outs in the fifth inning. Thompson, who filled Sonny Gray’s rotation spot to start the season, hadn’t appeared in a game in 10 days.

The Brewers led the rest of the game after they scored three in the fourth. They tacked on four more runs in the sixth inning.

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