ST. LOUIS – Manager Mike Shildt was philosophical following the end of the Cardinals’ 17-game winning streak record.
“It was a cool race,†he said. “Let’s start another one.”
Daniel Vogelbach hit a two-run homer that supported starting pitcher Adrian Houser and led the Milwaukee Brewers to St. Louis 4-0 on Wednesday night.
Wednesday night marked the third time since 1900 that a 17-game or more winning streak ended in a shutout loss, according to ESPN Stats & Information research; the Athletics 20-game winning streak in 2002 and the Yankees 19-game streak in 1947 were the others.
St. Louis received a standing ovation after the crowd loss of 35,283. The streak, the longest in the major leagues since Cleveland claimed 22 straight wins in 2017, saw the Cardinals advance to the game wild NL card next week against the Los Angeles Dodgers or the San Francisco Giants.
The Cardinals were 71-69 after losing to Cincinnati 6-4 on September 10, their previous loss. St. Louis is 21-7 in September, tying the 1930 and 1942 Cardinals for the most wins in the month.
“It shows that we can do anything,” said St. Louis pitcher Andrew Miller. “Confidence is everything in this game. The guys at this clubhouse think no matter who we play, we can beat anybody, beat any pitcher.”
Shildt said the key to the race was “everyone was showing it off at every opportunity. It’s my favorite part.”
Vogelbach liked to end the streak, which was September’s longest race since the Chicago Cubs won 21 in a row from September 4-27, 1935.
“Going out there and being able to end their winning streak makes you feel pretty good,†said Vogelbach.
Manny Pina added a solo homerun for the NL Central champions Brewers, who won four of five.
One night after clinching a playoff berth, the Cardinals failed to start regulars Nolan Arenado, Tyler O’Neill and Tommy Edman.
Houser (10-6) allowed three hits in five innings. He’s allowed either one earned run or none in four of his last five starts. Brent Suter, Brad Boxberger and Aaron Ashby finished with three hits.
Vogelbach scored in the sixth against Miles Mikolas (2-3), who allowed three runs and seven hits in 5th innings. Mikolas has been sidelined for most of the season with a contraction in his right forearm.
Mikolas said: “I feel like I enjoyed this game a lot, except for that pitch in the last set.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
