Adrian Houser threw a three-hit shutout Saturday as the Milwaukee Brewers blanked the visiting St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 Saturday.
One night after the Brewers needed their bullpen to cover seven innings in a 15-4 loss, Houser (8-6) delivered the first complete game shutout of his career. He struck out seven batters and walked nobody.
Luis Urias hit a homer and drove in two runs for the Brewers (83-54), who have won five of their last seven games.
Since winning six straight games last month, the Cardinals (69-65) have gone 8-9 while struggling to hang on in the National League wild-card race.
Cardinals starting pitcher Kwang Hyun Kim (6-7) retired just five batters. He allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk.
Since returning from elbow soreness, Kim has lasted just 8 1/3 innings in one relief outing and two starts.
Urias got the Brewers started with a solo homer in the first inning. In the second inning they scored three more runs to knock Kim out of the game.
Lorenzo Cain drew a leadoff walk, then Rowdy Tellez’s single and Dylan Carlson’s throwing error from right field produced one run. Luke Maile drove home another run with a ground-rule double, then Urias hit an RBI single to make it 4-0.
Meanwhile Houser retired the first 12 batters he faced — throwing first-pitch strikes in each case — before allowing Nolan Arenado’s single in the fifth inning.
Jake Woodford relieved Kim and delivered 5 1/3 innings to keep the game from getting out of hand. He struck out five batters, walked nobody and allowed just two hits while delivering the Cardinals’ longest relief stint of the season.
Edman hit his second single of the game in the ninth inning, but Houser got Paul Goldschmidt to hit a game-ending flyout on his 100th pitch.
Related: MLB games today – MLB schedule, TV info, scores, and key dates
–Field Level Media