Prince Fielder homered in the bottom of the sixth to give the Brewers their first lead of the day, and Milwaukee held on from there, winning 4-3 to complete a three-game sweep of the Cardinals.
With the victory, the Brewers moved a half-game up on St. Louis for first place in the NL Central.
Shaun Marcum was the winner in this one, staying in to pitch seven innings after originally giving the Cardinals a 3-0 lead. The Brewers couldn’t touch Jake Westbrook until the bottom of the sixth, when they scored all four of their runs.
Kameron Loe and John Axford pitched scoreless innings after Marcum came out.
The Brewers moved into sole possession of first place in the NL Central for the first time since July 9, 2009.
Fielder’s homer was his eighth in 10 games and 19th overall. He’s one behind Matt Kemp for the NL lead in homers. He is tops with 58 RBI, with Kemp two back in second place.
The slumping Cardinals fell out of first place for the first time since May 19. They were swept in Milwaukee for the first time since April 30-May 2, 2007.
The good news for them is that they’re about to get a couple of key players back. Kyle McClellan (hip) will return from the disabled list to start Wednesday’s game against the Nationals, and Matt Holliday is expected to be activated on Thursday.