Owen Miller stepped up with a two-run single, breaking the tie, while Colin Rea pitched five scoreless innings, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a 2-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
This win marks Milwaukee’s fourth consecutive victory and its first three-game series sweep in St. Louis since September 24-26, 2018.
Sonny Gray put on a strong performance for the Cardinals, striking out 12 batters over 6 1/3 innings, despite their fourth straight loss.
Rea allowed five hits over five-plus innings and left the game after walking Paul Goldschmidt to start the sixth inning.
“After the first couple of innings, I began to focus on throwing strikes,” Rea commented. “At the start of the game, I was trying too hard to make perfect pitches, but then we just went back to attacking the strike zone.”
Miller, who was brought up from Triple-A Nashville earlier in the week, delivered a crucial two-run single in the seventh inning following singles by Blake Perkins and Brice Turang.
“It felt satisfying to sweep them and secure a win like that,” Miller remarked. “To take advantage of a game where Sonny Gray was pitching so well, that’s quite special.”
Miller ended an eight-game hitless streak dating back to last season with this performance. “To be called up, make his first start, and deliver a crucial hit like that speaks volumes about him,” stated Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy.
Gray, who signed as a free agent on November 27, allowed five hits and conceded his first two runs of the season. Gray (2-1) struck out 20 batters before issuing his first walk of the season to Joey Ortiz in the fifth inning.
Reliever Bryan Hudson, hailing from the St. Louis suburb of Alton, Illinois, retired all seven batters he faced after Rea’s departure. Hudson struck out four batters and secured his first career win.
The left-hander distributed 70 tickets among family and friends. He spent his childhood attending Cardinals games and even played at Busch Stadium during his high school years.
