ST. LOUIS (AP) — Frankie Montas pitched seven brilliant innings and Devin Williams got out of a tight spot in the ninth inning to help the Milwaukee Brewers to a 3-2 victory over the reeling St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.
Montas (6-8) allowed one hit in his fourth start since being acquired in a trade from Cincinnati – Alec Burleson’s single in the fourth. He struck out three times and walked once.
“They like to swing early,” Montas said. “So I tried to use that to my advantage, you know, I tried to make good throws. And I know if I hit my spots and make good throws, I’m going to get outs quickly.”
William Contreras had three hits for the NL Central-leading Brewers, who won their sixth straight game. Sal Frelick added two more hits.
Contreras, who was behind the plate for Milwaukee, said Montas was aggressive.
“He attacked the zone,” Contreras said through an interpreter. “I think a little late, maybe he was a little tired and messed that up a little bit, but we talked in the team bench about him just continuing to do what he’s been doing all game, staying aggressive, continuing to attack the zone, and yeah, it all worked for him.”
Montas’ seven innings pitched were his season high and the one hit allowed was his season low.
“He’s taken it up a notch, you know, and that’s kind of cool,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “He gets it. It’s nice to have his experience.”
Matt Carpenter hit a home run for St. Louis in its seventh loss in eight games. Erick Fedde (8-7) was responsible for two runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Carpenter’s fourth home run of the season – a pinch-hit drive with Lars Nootbaar on board in the eighth inning – brought St. Louis within one point.
The Cardinals had all bases loaded with one out in the ninth inning, but Williams struck out Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Gorman – both with swings – for his fifth save.
“He’s not afraid of anything,” Montas said of Williams. “When the bases are loaded, he says, ‘I can do this.’ He’s Devin Williams for a reason.”
Frelick brought home Willy Adames with a two-out single in the second inning. Frelick also hit a triple and scored on Joey Ortiz’s single in the fifth inning.
“A little frustrating,” Fedde said. “I just see the run in the second inning as if I had shot myself in the foot with the two walks. … We played great defense today and the guys supported me and made me feel much better after the performance.”
For Frelick, who was coming out of a 1-for-14 slump, it was the first multi-hit game since August 8.
“Sal has been pretty consistent,” Murphy said. “He hasn’t been swinging as well as he did recently, barrel-wise, but he’s capable. He’s such a winner.”
Contreras hit a double against Garrett Mitchell in the eighth inning to take a 3-0 lead.
“You have to give William a lot of credit,” Murphy said. “He played a great game tonight on both sides of the ball.”
Carpenter’s drive was his sixth career pinch-hit home run and his first since April 30, 2021 against Pittsburgh.
“In order for us to play in October, we have to score more runs, and we failed to do that again today,” said Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol.
Transactions
The Cardinals gave shortstop Brandon Crawford his unconditional release and reinstated Carpenter from the 10-day injured list. They also sent outfielder Jordan Walker to the minor leagues and recalled infielder Luken Baker from Triple-A Memphis.
Trainer room
Brewers: RHP Trevor Megill (lower back injury) was activated from the 15-day injured list and RHP Elvis Peguero was sent to Triple-A Nashville.
Cardinals: RHP Lance Lynn (right knee inflammation) threw a live bullpen of about 45 pitches and will throw another at a higher intensity on Monday.
Next
The Brewers will match RHP Tobias Myers (6-5, 2.81 ERA) against Cardinals RHP Kyle Gibson (7-5, 4.26 ERA) on Wednesday night. Myers received a no-decision in the Brewers’ 7-1 victory over the Cardinals on May 9 in Milwaukee. Gibson allowed a career-high four home runs in his last start, a 9-2 loss at Cincinnati.
