The St Louis Cardinals had no response to Milwaukee’s early runs, falling to the NL Central-leading Brewers 9-3 at Miller Park on Monday, Sept. 2.

The Brewers got to starting pitcher Chris Pallante early, with Willy Adames connecting for a three-run shot to left field. Pedro Pagés responded with a solo home run of his own in the third, but the Brewers would add two more with the long ball in the fourth, as Rhys Hawkins sent one over the left-field fence. Pagés added his second home run in the fifth, while Luken Baker brought in a run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth. That would be the closest the Cardinals could get, as the Brewers’ Jackson Chourio rung up reliever Riley O’Brien for a grand slam in the sixth inning to shut the door on the Cardinals.

Pallante allowed five runs, five hits, and five walks in five innings, striking out three in the loss. Freddy Peralta picked up the win for the Brewers, his tenth of the year.

The Cardinals are back at .500 (69-69), 12 games behind Milwaukee in the Central and 5.5 games behind Atlanta for the third wild card spot. The Cardinals look to rebound Tuesday evening against Milwaukee, with first pitch at 6:40 p.m.