Milwaukee claimed the division crown for the third time in six seasons Tuesday night, despite a 4-1 loss to the last-place St. Louis Cardinals and with the help of a come-from-behind win by the Braves.
Milwaukee clinched its second division crown in three seasons when the Chicago Cubs dropped a 7-6 decision to the Braves. Atlanta overcame a six-run deficit to eliminate the wild-card contending Cubs from the division race.
St. Louis starter Miles Mikolas (8-13) allowed one run and five hits in seven innings, as the Cardinals tried to play the role of spoilers. He struck out five batters and walked two, throwing 101 pitches.
Ryan Helsley struck out all three batters in the ninth inning for his 13th save.
The Cardinals took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning on a double by Richie Palacios. They extended their lead to 4-1 in the fifth following a two-base error by the Brewer’s second baseman.
The second of the three-game series pits Brewers LHP Wade Miley (9-4, 3.20 ERA) against Cardinals LHP Zack Thompson (5-7, 4.57 ERA), 5:45 with the pregame and the first pitch at 6:40 on KIRX.