The two teams entered the day with long winning streaks.  The Brewers had won four straight, the Cardinals five straight.  Something had to give in the 90 degree heat in St. Louis.

Rickie Weeks and the Brewers strike the first blow in the series, winning an extra-inning thriller 6-3 in ten innings.

The Ray Durham trade sparked a lot of controversy around the Brewers second baseman, but he delivered with the bat Monday night.  In the top of the fifth, Rickie connected with a Joel Pineiro fastball.  It went 431 feet down the left field line before putting the Crew ahead 3-2.  He also plated an insurance run in the tenth by smoking a liner up the middle.  Not a bad night at the plate at all.

Last night also marked the beginning of the McBush platoon in the starting rotation.  Seth McClung made good on his end of things, working through trouble in the first couple innings to put forth a respectable outing.  He could not find the zone with his fastball at first, but his curve was solid all night.  I've never seen Seth throw so many two-seamers in one game.  Perhaps he and Mike Maddux saw something in the scouting report that led to the game plan.

Whatever the reasoning, Seth gave the Crew a chance to win the game.  That's all he is asked to do when stepping onto the mound.  I'm not so sure he's better on the road or it is just a coincidence, but McClung is tough on the mound.  Mentally tough.  It is inexplicably difficult to work back from struggling like that in the first couple innings.  Not only did he work back and keep the Cards off the board, but he also got into a nice groove before being lifted for Guillermo Mota.

Mota and Eric Gagne both pitched the day before Jeff Suppan will be activated from the DL, and it felt very much like an audition for the two relievers.  Whichever one struggled the most would get replaced tomorrow.  This could be me overreading things, however, and Mitch Stetter could be sent down to Nashville.  I just think Ned Yost likes having two lefties in the bullpen too much.

If both appearances were auditions, Gagne prevailed.  He threw his change-up often tonight, and it was a good one.  He struck out two of the three batters he faced in his 1-2-3 inning.  Mota walked a batter before escaping unscathed.  I think that will be the walking ticket for Mota Tuesday.  That is purely speculation, obviously.

On to the ninth inning.  Salomon Torres struggled again on the mound.  He is starting to get his sinker up in the zone lately, which is exactly what happened in the Yadier Molina at-bat.  Yadi deposited a ball into the right-center field gap for a ground rule double.  The Cards then had runners on the corners with the game tied 3-3 when Albert Pujols flew out to center to send the game into extras.

The game last night turned out to be a night for the trodden on.  Bill Hall opened the extra frames with a home run to deep left-center field to put the Crew ahead 4-3.  It was a lead the Brewers would never reliquish.  Rickie Weeks hit a bullet up the center of the diamond to score Jason Kendall, who did what catchers do apparently and hit a ground-rule double to the outfield gap.  J.J. Hardy scored Weeks a play later with a liner to left.  The Brewers shortstop had a nice game, going 4-6 and raising his batting average to .291.  That two-hole has fit him rather nicely.

Torres came on in the bottom of the tenth and secured the win. 

The Brewers are now tied with the Cardinals for the National League Wild Card.  They also pulled within two games of the Chicago Cubs.  The NL Central leaders fell 2-0 to the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Rich Harden had a no-hitter going through four before giving up a solo shot in the fifth.

Records:  Brewers (56-43); Cardinals (57-44)

Hero of the Game:  Rickie Weeks

Despite a couple of clumsy plays with the glove in the ninth inning, Rickie delivered.  Without Weeks' three-run blast in the fifth, those two defensive plays wouldn't have mattered.  He also came through in the tenth with a run scored and an RBI-single.  Rickie seems to get stronger as the season gets later, sort of a Adam LaRoche-type player.  

Bill Hall also deserves mentioning.  After struggling against right-handers for the majority of the season, Ned Yost pushed the right buttons and started the third baseman Monday night against a righty.  Hall came threw with a 3-5 night and a go-ahead solo home run to center field off Ryan Franklin.  His swing is so beautiful when it is compact.  A flick of the wrists, and the ball is gone.  It is when Hall's swings get long and loopy that he struggles.

Goat of the Game:  Salomon Torres

When your team battles back from a 2-0 first inning deficit and hands you the lead in the ninth inning, you have to convert on the mound.  When struggling pitchers like Guillermo Mota and Eric Gagne can get through the Cardinals' batting order, you have to close out the game in the ninth.  Salomon was unable to do so. 

I have heard that Torres is complaining of a lack of work.  When he pitches often, his sinker has more dive and his control is better.  To put it succinctly, he is sharper.  The Brewers may think about grabbing a Jon Rauch-type pitcher before the deadline to move Torres to the eighth inning.  He could get more work and stay more on point. 

On Tap

After a big first game win, right-hander Jeff Suppan will make his first start since landing on the DL with an elbow injury.  He will take on fellow right-hander Kyle Lohse, who has pitched brilliantly for the Cardinals.  The Brewers cannot try to pull the ball off Lohse.  They will have to hit the ball where it is pitched, which will mean a lot of opposite field hits.  If hitters try to pull a Lohse sinker, it will be an easy 6-3 or 5-3 out.  The game will start at 7:15pm CT at Busch Stadium