MILWAUKEE (AP) — Nolan Arenado homered twice in the first three innings to help the St. Louis Cardinals trounce the Milwaukee Brewers 15-4 on Friday night in a milestone performance for Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina.
St. Louis hit a season-high six homers. Arenado drove a two-run shot in the first inning and went deep again in the third for his 28th and 29th of the season. Molina hit a grand slam, Harrison Bader had a three-run shot, Tyler O’Neill provided a two-run blast and Edmundo Sosa added a solo shot.
It marked the 300th game to feature Wainwright and Molina as the Cardinals’ starting pitcher-catcher combination. That total makes them the fourth-most prolific battery of all time.
The Cardinals pulled within 1 1/2 games of Cincinnati for the second NL wild card after the Reds got blown out by Detroit 15-5.
The homers by Molina and Sosa were back-to-back drives with two outs in the top of the ninth.
The record is held by former Detroit teammates Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan, who formed the Tigers’ starting battery for 324 games.
Wainwright (14-7) carried a two-hit shutout into the seventh and ended up allowing two runs — one earned — and four hits in 6 1/3 innings to continue his history of success at American Family Field. The 40-year-old right-hander struck out four and walked three.
The Cardinals have won each of Wainwright’s last nine starts in Milwaukee. Wainwright owns a 19-12 career record against the Brewers and has more wins against them than any other opponent.
Wainwright also singled home Molina in the second inning. Molina’s slam in the ninth was his first homer since July 2.
The Cardinals put this game out of reach early by grabbing an 8-0 lead in the first three innings.
All-Star right-hander Freddy Peralta (9-4) was ineffective for Milwaukee in his first start since Aug. 18. Peralta, who had been on the injured list with inflammation in his throwing shoulder, lasted just two innings and gave up four earned runs and three hits.
This marked just the second time in 23 starts this season that Peralta had allowed more than three earned runs. He struck out four but walked two and hit a batter.
Justin Topa replaced Peralta and gave up four runs in the third inning before departing with right elbow discomfort. Topa, who has had Tommy John surgery twice in his career, spent most of this season on the injured list with an elbow problem and didn’t make his 2021 debut until Aug. 12.
EJECTED FROM DUGOUT
Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich was ejected from Friday’s game after he already had stopped playing in it.
Yelich was removed from the game at the start of the fifth inning with the Brewers trailing 8-0, but he continued to watch the action from the dugout. After Milwaukee’s Lorenzo Cain struck out in the bottom of the fifth, home plate umpire Greg Gibson ejected Yelich for arguing.
That wasn’t Yelich’s first gripe about Gibson’s umpiring. Yelich had complained after getting called out on strikes in the fourth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: RHP Junior Fernández has a grade-2 lat strain and will miss the rest of the season. Fernández was 1-0 with a 5.66 ERA in 18 appearances. “It’s way more severe than I think we anticipated when it first happened,” manager Mike Shildt said. … The Cardinals recalled RHP Jake Woodford from Triple-A Memphis.
Brewers: 3B Eduardo Escobar and Peralta were activated from the injured list. 2B Kolten Wong went on the paternity list and RHP Alec Bettinger was optioned to Triple-A Nashville.
UP NEXT
LHP Kwang Hyun Kim (6-6, 3.23) pitches for St. Louis and RHP Adrian Houser (7-6, 3.69) starts for Milwaukee as the Cardinals and Brewers continue their three-game series Saturday.
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