Blanked by Brewers, Cardinals have gone cold against division leaders

MILWAUKEE — The Cardinals will reach the end of their road trip looking for their first RBI base hit since Saturday.

On a journey complicated by rainy weather, it’s the Cardinals offense that’s gone cold.

Blistered by the heat of Jacob Misiorowski on Monday afternoon, the Cardinals couldn’t solve Milwaukee lefty Kyle Harrison on Tuesday. He pitched six scoreless innings as the Brewers shut out the Cardinals, 6-0, at American Family Field. The Cardinals have scored a single run on a groundout in two days against their division rival and must find some semblance of offense to salvage the series Wednesday.

A day after the Cardinals managed only two hits against Misiorowski & Co., Harrison held them to four hits through his quality start.

The Brewers got ahead in the fourth inning with a solo homer by Jake Bauers and pulled away with a three-run homer to center field by Garrett Mitchell. All but one of the runs created by those homers went on Michael McGreevy’s line. The Cardinals’ right-handed starter pitched into the fifth inning but did not retire a batter. All four runners he allowed in that inning scored to give the Brewers five runs on seven hits against him.

McGreevy struck out six but complicated almost every inning on his way to 10 baserunners. Former MVP Christian Yelich was a recurring pest as he moved up to lead off and had the double that sparked the decisive five-run fifth inning.

Another day, another Brewer sharp start

There wouldn’t be any 103-mph fastballs or 91-mph curveballs for the Cardinals to fend off, but Harrison found a different way to get the same results as Misiorowski.

A day after Misiorowski overpowered the Cardinals for 12 strikeouts through seven dominant innings, Harrison just baffled them.

He didn’t miss many bats.

He didn’t throw many different pitches.

He didn’t need to.

Harrison did not allow a ball beyond the reach of an infielder until the third inning, and when the bottom of the Cardinals lineup got two quick singles, the Brewers left-hander retired three batters just as quickly. He struck out Ivan Herrera to evade trouble in between two fly balls that kept the Cardinals scoreless. After those back-to-back singles, Harrison retired 10 consecutive Cardinals.

“He’s kind of found a home,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said before the game. “He’s really interested in being good. He’s committed to being a (strong) starter in the big leagues.”

Murphy said he was first intrigued by Harrison when he saw how “sneaky” his pitches were against them. Harrison, who was with the Giants at the time, had a “heater that plays.” And he’s not shy about throwing it. Forty-eight of his 92 pitches Tuesday were four-seam fastballs, and few starters throw as many as he does. The Cardinals took 29 swings against the fastball. They put 10 balls in play and got two hits.

That fastball set up his slurve — one part curve, one part slider — and using it he was able to get ahead on six of the eight batters who saw it for a first pitch.

Getting ahead and getting weak contact helped Harrison get zeroes, especially when he got help.

Milwaukee gets a grip on the game

In the middle innings, while they were building a lead with their bats, the Brewers were stifling with their gloves anything that the Cardinals tried to generate.

In the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, a Brewers infielder had a play that stole a hit from the Cardinals and, at least in one case, put the brakes on a developing rally. Shortstop David Hamilton had two plays that took singles away from the Cardinals and assured Harrison of a perfect run through both the fourth and fifth innings.

In the fourth, Hamilton ranged to his right toward the grass and was able to make the long throw across the diamond to get Jose Fermin by a step.

In the fifth, Hamilton turned his back to the hitter and dashed into shallow left field to make a leaping catch on a loopy liner from Bryan Torres.

That catch erased a leadoff single.

In the sixth inning, a 103-mph rocket by Jordan Walker couldn’t outrace Brice Turang’s timing. One of the better fielders in the game, Turang leapt to snare the liner headed for center for the second out of the inning. The potential bruise from the bolt was worth it because the Cardinals scattered two singles around that shot and might have scored a run.

For good measure, the Brewers ended the seventh inning by spinning a double play to extinguish whatever Torres’ single could have started.

Fernandez cannot escape inherited mess

Back in the majors and immediately back into the air fryer, reliever Ryan Fernandez was crisp enough to strike out three batters in the fifth inning.

He got burnt by a homer.

The first four batters of the fifth inning reached base against starter McGreevy. He created a Houdini for himself or someone else to escape by walking two batters after Christian Yelich’s leadoff double. With the bases loaded and not outs, McGreevy got a chance to slip free on his own — and William Contreras, Willson’s younger brother, denied him that. On McGreevy first pitch to him and final pitch of the start, Contreras ripped a two-run double.

That increased the Brewers’ lead to 3-0 and brought in Fernandez.

The right-hander struck out four in two innings of work this past Saturday, and he returned officially to the major-league bullpen Tuesday after the team optioned Brycen Mautz. The Cardinals have been encouraged by Fernandez’s fastball and performance at Class AAA Memphis. He’s been able to consistent restore the movement on it that leads to strikeouts, and that likely prompted the assignment Tuesday.

The Brewers had two left-handed batters due up and a switch-hitter in the hole for Fernandez to potentially face.

He had no outs, two on, and the three-run deficit to freeze.

Fernandez struck out the first batter he faced, and then the second, Mitchell, crushed a pitch 421 feet to center field for a three-run homer. That doubled the Brewers’ lead and brought a conclusion to McGreevy’s line. But Fernandez’s inning wasn’t over. He walked the next better before striking out the next two and ending the inning.

The inning was exactly what the Cardinals wanted — three strikeouts — and none of what they needed by deepening their deficit when they’re already struggling offensively.