“Good pitcher,” said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. “Guy’s got a winning record (10-7) on a team which doesn’t have one (64-79).”

“That guy is a hell of a pitcher,” said Brandon Moss, who went nothing for four, dropping him to one for his last 41. “I’m not going to lie. That guy is good.”

More bad news was that lefthander Kevin Siegrist surrendered his ninth homer in 54 2/3 innings as Ryan Braun walloped a 429-foot drive in the ninth to provide the Brewers with the victory, enabling them to split the series. Siegrist had walked Braun in three of his previous five plate appearances in their careers and was one ball from doing so again, which would have caused a lot less damage.

“It was a great effort from our starting pitching, getting back into it, getting it tied up,” said Matheny. “One pitch was the difference.

“A couple of things could have happened differently early, but those close games where you feel like you’ve got a real shot are always hard to swallow at this time of year.”