MILWAUKEE — Allen Craig hit a bloop RBI single off closer John Axford to take the lead, and the St. Louis Cardinals rallied to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 on Monday night.
Milwaukee was leading 2-0 going into the ninth but Axford struggled with his control right away, eventually allowing the Cardinals to load the bases with two outs and giving up a game-tying, two-run single to Matt Holliday.
Axford (2-6) then was lifted after giving up the single to Craig which dropped softly into shallow left field. Axford left the game to a steady stream of boos from the crowd.
Axford’s sloppy inning wasted another strong performance by Brewers starter Mike Fiers, who pitched seven scoreless innings.
Jason Motte (4-3) got the victory.
St. Louis had lost three consecutive coming into Monday’s game after getting swept by Cincinnati.
Corey Hart hit a home run for the Brewers, his 17th of the season. Ryan Braun added an RBI double in the eighth.
Fiers continued his string of strong performances since he was recalled from Class AAA Nashville on May 29. Fiers was coming off a loss to the Miami Marlins where he gave up two runs in 7 1/3 innings 1 - snapping a scoreless streak of 21/3 innings.
The Cardinals had a scoring chance in the fourth when Yadier Molina hit a one-out double and David Freese walked. But Fiers got Matt Carpenter to fly out to center - allowing Molina to take third base - then got Daniel Descalso to ground out and end the inning.
Milwaukee had a chance with two outs in the fifth when a sharp grounder by Cody Ransom glanced off the glove of Freese at third base, allowing Ransom to take second base on a play that was ruled a double. But Descalso charged a soft grounder by Fiers and threw him out, ending the inning.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, REDS 3 Miguel Montero drove in four runs with a bases-loaded double and a home run, leading Arizona Diamondbacks to victory shortly after host Cincinnati learned it will have to try to hold onto first place in the NL Central without Joey Votto. A magnetic resonance imaging found the All-Star first baseman has torn cartilage in his left knee that will require surgery and sideline him for three to four weeks.
MARLINS 5, NATIONALS 3 Hanley Ramirez hit a two-run home run, Carlos Lee drove in two runs, and host Miami beat Washington to earn a split in the four-game series.
AMERICAN LEAGUE RED SOX 5, WHITE SOX 1 Adrian Gonzalez spoiled Kevin Youkilis’ return to Fenway Park, hitting a tie breaking, three-run home run in the eighth inning to lift Boston past Chicago. Boston traded Youkilis on June 24, sending the three time All-Star and cash to Chicago for utility man Brent Lillibridge and a minor league pitcher. Youkilis went 3 for 4 with two doubles in his first game back at his longtime home.
YANKEES 6, BLUE JAYS 3 Raul Ibanez hit a tie breaking grand slam with two outs in the eighth inning and host New York beat Toronto after Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista left the game with a wrist injury.
TIGERS 8, ANGELS 6 Brennan Boesch hit a tie breaking, two-run home run in the seventh inning and host Detroit rallied to beat Los Angeles. Torii Hunter (Pine Bluff) had four hits and drove in three runs for Los Angeles.
INDIANS 3, RAYS 2 Zach McAllister shrugged off being struck in his pitching arm by a line drive to finish six solid innings, and Cleveland held on to beat host Tampa Bay. McAllister (4-1) appeared to get hit above the right elbow by Jeff Keppinger’s RBI single in the fourth. He retired the next six batters and eight of his last nine overall, and allowed one run and three hits.
MARINERS 9, ROYALS 4 Casper Wells homered and drove in a career-high five runs, all of them against Jonathan Sanchez (1-6), and Seattle beat host Kansas City.
TWINS 19, ORIOLES 7 Denard Span had three hits and five RBI, plus two highlight-reel catches in center field to help host Minnesota stop its five-game losing streak with a victory over Baltimore.
Monday’s games NATIONAL LEAGUE Arizona 5, Cincinnati 3 Miami 5, Washington 3 St. Louis 3, Milwaukee 2 Colorado 5, Pittsburgh 4 Houston at San Diego, (n) Philadelphia at LA Dodgers, (n) AMERICAN LEAGUE Detroit 8, LA Angels 6 NY Yankees 6, Toronto 3 Boston 5, Chicago White Sox 1 Cleveland 3, Tampa Bay 2 Minnesota 19, Baltimore 7 Seattle 9, Kansas City 4
Sports, Pages 16 on 07/17/2012