Cardinals vs Brewers Recap: 2015 Home Opener Ends in 5-4 Loss

After a pregame of long lines, clydesdales, red blazers, and tributes, the Cardinals lost a baseball game versus the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-4.

But baseball is back in St. Louis, that's the important thing.

1st Inning

The top half of the first inning represents Waino's start in a nutshell. Milwaukee scored its first run of the game on this sequence: an error by Wong, a walk by Wainwright, a fly out to advance the runner, and finally a fielder's choice to score the runner.

Waino got out of the inning without any more runs scoring, but folks, it was ugly baseball, and it was only the beginning.

2nd Inning

The Brewers' second run scored in a similarly unclean manner. After Khris Davis singled to start the inning, Jean Segura (who has looked pretty frisky at the plate so far after altering his swing in the offseason) hit a fliner out to right center, which as you'll recall is now the purview of all-world rightfielder Jason Heyward, among whose virtues is an unerring instinct for flyball routes.

Well, let's be frank: I think it must've been windy out there, but if Jon Jay had taken such a bad route, I'd clamor "PETER WOULD'VE" till the cows came home:

After taking what ended up being a J-shaped route to the ball, Heyward wasn't able to make the catch, the ball bouncing off the palm of his mitt.

One run scored. 2-0 Milwaukee after two.

3rd Inning

Matt Carpenter led off the bottom of the inning with a double to left-center. After a fly out and a single by Matt Holliday, Matt Adams then achieved an RMI (Run Matted In, if you need a refresher) by heroically grounding out slowly to the Milwaukee second baseman Scooter Gennett.

2-1 Milwaukee.

4th Inning

This game continued to be baseball all throughout the fourth inning. Likewise, the level of baseball on display remained mediocre--and yet! The Cardinals scored a run on a spectacularly errant throw by Segura, who was covering third base on a bunt by Adam Wainwright.

Ballgame tied 2-2.

5th Inning

Neither team scored in this inning.

Who's faster, first to second base--Lou Brock or that eagle there?

6th Inning

Yet another example of the baseball that was played today: The Brewers scored their third run, this time on a groundball out to Jhonny Peralta by Aramis Ramirez.

Wainwright was able to end the inning by striking out Khris Davis looking and, um, inducing a screaming line drive from Segura right at Matt Adams.

3-2 Milwaukee.

7th Inning

This inning was still ugly, but at least it was fun.

After a leadoff single and a sac bunt, Carlos Gomez doubled to left. 4-2 Milwaukee.

And then Kolten Wong committed his second error of the game--this time on a high throw to first that Adams was unable to get his glove on, even though his glove was pretty far up in the air. It was a bad throw. 5-2 Milwaukee.

In the bottom frame, here's what it took for the Cardinals to score two runs:

• Holliday reaches first on another throwing error by Segura;
• Adams singled to center;
• both runners advance on a wild pitch by Jeremy Jeffress;
• Peralta singled to right, and both runners scored because Ryan Braun wasn't able to keep the ball in front of him (I'm not sure if this was ultimately ruled an error or not--it was bad defense, for sure), 5-4 Milwaukee;
• and then the rest of the inning went fly out by Jon Jay, ground out by Yadier Molina, intentional walk (!) to Kolten Wong, and first-pitch groundout to the pitcher by pinch-hitter Randal Grichuk.

Wainwright's final line, by the way:

7 IP, 8 H, 5 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 4 K; 101 pitches (68 strikes), 13 groundballs, 4 fly balls, 6 line drives; 2 infield hits, and 2 errors behind him

He looked okay; he wasn't sharp; he did get nine whiffs on the day; he looked really good in his crisp white uniform; he's probably a foot taller than Scooter Gennett; I'm not worried about him.

8th Inning

Randy Choate and Seth Maness stifled the Brewers, while Jonathan Broxton kept the Cardinals scoreless.

That's Whitey Herzog up there.

9th Inning

Bottom of the ninth, Cardinals down one run, 2015 home opener, a day for honoring the great players St. Louis has seen through the years, for bringing out the Cardinal legends in their perfectly tailored red blazers, and most important of all, a poignant and emotional day for reasons I hate to even mention in a game recap, which is surely the most frivolous thing you'll read all day--all this, though, and you'd think that a comeback victory would be demanded. That Peralta, Jay, and Molina would take the emotion of the day and fashion it into two final runs.

Well that's not how baseball works. Cards go down in order. Milwaukee wins 5-4.

156 games to go. Tell your family you love them.

Source: FanGraphs

After an off day tomorrow, the second game of the series takes place Wednesday at 7:15 central, Lance Lynn versus Wily Peralta.