Brewers 2, Cardinals 0: Unlikely heroes lead the way as Milwaukee sweeps St. Louis

ST. LOUIS – These Milwaukee Brewers have become road warriors.

Sparked by a home-run-robbing catch by Blake Perkins in the first inning and a clutch single by Owen Miller in the seventh, they completed a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium with a 2-0 shutout Sunday afternoon.

It was the sixth straight victory for the Brewers in St. Louis, who also improved to a major-league-best 10-2 on the road, and their first sweep at Busch Stadium since Sept. 24-26, 2018.

BOX SCORE: Brewers 2, Cardinals 0

"It's pretty special," Miller said of the sweep. "Glad we showed up, got some balls to fall our way and just kept competing."

Starter Colin Rea, helped immensely by the Perkins catch, was on the ropes early but recovered to provide five effective innings and Bryan Hudson (2 ⅓ innings), Elvis Peguero (two-thirds of an inning) and Joel Payamps (one inning) combined to finish it up.

Their performances came only hours after the Brewers suffered more bad news on the injury front, with starter DL Hall going on the injured list with a sprained left knee.

"The guys are battling, and they're coming up big for us over and over," said manager Pat Murphy, whose team is in the midst of its third four-game winning streak already this season and atop the National League Central Division standings with a 14-6 record.

Owen Miller comes through

Cardinals starter Sonny Gray upped his strikeout total on the day to 12 by fanning Rhys Hoskins to open the seventh. Save for a first-inning double by Willy Adames, a second-inning single by Brice Turang and a fifth-inning walk by Joey Ortiz he had been largely untouchable.

Then, Perkins and Turang singled in succession to bring Miller to the plate.

Hitless in his two previous at-bats as well as for 2024 (0 for 4), Miller, who got the start at first base, drilled a two-run single to left to give Milwaukee the first lead of the game as well as chase Gray, who saw his streak of 17 consecutive scoreless innings snapped in the process.

"Owen Miller has been in the cooler since last year," said Murphy. Indeed, his single snapped an eight-game hitless streak that dated to last season. "To get called up and get his first start, get a huge hit, it says a lot about him."

"It felt good," Miller added. "I'm happy to be up here with the boys."

Hat tip to Colin Rea

Considering the way he started the game, with tons of action on the bases in the opening two innings, Rea allowed only two baserunners over the rest of his outing.

A leadoff walk in the sixth ended his day. Hudson, from nearby Alton, Ill., took over and retired the next three batters -- two via strikeout -- with a large contingent of family and friends looking on from the bleachers.

Rea ended up allowing five hits and three walks with three strikeouts over 89 pitches and dropped his ERA to 2.08.

"Obviously the start didn't go exactly the way I had envisioned it," Rea said. "We had zeroes, but Perk coming up with that big catch in the first was huge. Tried making some mechanical changes after the first couple innings, really started attacking the strike zone, making my body work.

"I was kind of over-throwing to start the game and trying to make perfect pitches. We just went back to attacking the strike zone and stayed with some good tempo and rhythm."

Hudson struck out his fourth batter in his 2 ⅓-inning outing to open the eighth. Peguero replaced him and after allowing a walk and single to start induced consecutive flyouts to maintain the shutout.

Payamps then tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to lock down the Brewers' second shutout of the season and his third save.

Hudson's performance earned him his first major-league victory, and at a ballpark he once played at as a high-schooler.

"Completely different," Hudson said when asked about comparing the experiences of pitching from the same mound years apart. "It was a really good feeling today to get that first win, and it being against the Cardinals."

Blake Perkins makes the highlight reel

The Cardinals put the first two runners on against Rea in the bottom of the first, which brought up Lars Nootbaar.

He then sent a drive to straightaway center field only to see Perkins make a terrific leaping grab at the wall to rob him of a three-run homer, easily the defensive play of the young season for the Brewers.

"I think that's what we live for. I'm a little excited, still," Perkins said hours after the catch. "It's just part of the work we put in before. I wasn't really thinking about it; I was just reacting to the play and it found the glove."

Rea was asked if Perkins had earned a free dinner for his efforts.

"I think he deserves a little more than that," he said with a chuckle. "Perk's incredible out there. That was huge; it obviously saved the game right there. And it's a big out, so I'm able to keep my pitch count just a little bit lower."

Murphy, who said on Saturday that he wasn't quite sure about Perkins when he first laid eyes on him in spring training in 2023, was again proven wrong by him.

"I was just saying the one thing I haven't seen Perkins do is go over the fence and rob one," he said. "And sure enough, he jumps over the fence and catches one. That's not easy to do, so credit to the kid."

Rea followed up by issuing a walk to load the bases then got off the hook by inducing a flyout and a groundout.

More: 'Dead wrong': Once-skeptical Pat Murphy has grown to love Brewers outfielder Blake Perkins and his game

Brewers schedule

Brewers at Pirates, 5:40 p.m. Monday. Milwaukee RHP Joe Ross (1-1, 4.91) vs. Pittsburgh RHP Jared Jones (1-2, 3.13). Broadcasts: TV – Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620.

Brewers at Pirates, 5:40 p.m. Tuesday. Milwaukee LHP Wade Miley (0-1, 5.14) vs. Pittsburgh LHP Bailey Falter (1-1, 4.05). Broadcasts: TV – Bally Sports Wisconsin Extra. Radio – 94.5-FM.

Brewers at Pirates, 5:40 p.m. Wednesday. Milwaukee TBA vs. Pittsburgh RHP Quinn Priester (0-1, 8.31). Broadcasts: TV – Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers 2, Cardinals 0: Unlikely heroes lead the way to sweep