Cardinals rally past Brewers for 7-3 victory

ST. LOUIS The Cardinals got another prolific performance from rookie Stephen Piscotty and kept rolling toward the playoffs with a 7-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers Thursday at Busch Stadium.

The victory in front of 43,253 was the fifth in succession and ninth in 11 games for the National League Central-leading Cardinals, who reduced their magic number to six. The club climbed a season-high 41 games over .500 (97-56) and registered its 40th come-from-behind victory.

Piscotty was in the middle of all of it, having another big night in what has been a string of big games during baseball’s second half.

Starting at first base before moving to left field, Piscotty hit his sixth home run and delivered two other run-scoring hits that helped the Cardinals overcome a 3-0 deficit and shaky start for Michael Wacha. Completing his 58th major league game, Piscotty increased his RBI total to 37 in 214 at-bats.

Wacha (17-6) picked up the victory but didn’t exactly erase concerns about his performance this month. He allowed three hits, two walks and three runs to the Brewers in the first inning. Had center fielder Tommy Pham not thrown out a Milwaukee runner at third base in the frame, the damage would have been worse.

But Wacha settled down and kept the lid on while the cavalry arrived in the form of the Cardinals’ offense. The Brewers still led 3-0 behind the one-hit pitching of Taylor Jungmann when Jhonny Peralta clouted a three-run homer in the fourth, tying the score with one swing of the bat. The homer was the 17th for Peralta, the first since Aug. 1 and the second since July 31.

Moments later, Piscotty blasted another homer, going back to back and giving the Cardinals a 4-3 lead. An inning later, Piscotty came through again, delivering a two-out, bases-loaded single in the fifth that drove in two and gave the Cardinals a 6-3 advantage.

In the seventh, Piscotty followed singles by Jason Heyward and Peralta with a two-out, run-scoring single, his third consecutive run-producing hit. The Cardinals, who won 10-2 on Wednesday night, had another big cushion, 7-3.

Meanwhile, Wacha came out of the game after throwing 90 pitches in five innings. That left work for a Cardinals bullpen that hurled a scoreless four innings. Steve Cishek, Kevin Siegrist, Jonathan Broxton and Matt Belisle each added a scoreless frame.

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