Errors cost Cardinals series vs. Brewers

MILWAUKEE -- Struggling on offense was one thing for the St. Louis Cardinals. Committing three errors in an inning was another twist in a recent rough patch for the reigning champions. Just showing the effort to get back into the game isn't enough for manager Mike Matheny.

Adam Wainwright got off to a shaky start and his defense didn't help, which led to a four-run first inning and a 4-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday.

The Cardinals gave Brewers closer Francisco Rodriguez trouble in the ninth, only to come up short for the second game in a row.

"Bottom line is we're not content in here with just fighting back," Matheny said. "We're content to do our jobs, which is to win games."

The Cardinals lost two of three to the Brewers and have lost five of their past six.

Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright delivers during the first inning Wednesday in Milwaukee. (JEFFREY PHELPS ~ Associated Press)

Wainwright (7-10) suffered the loss.

"I would say it's a reason for a wake-up call," Wainwright said. "There's no doubt in my mind that we can play better ball than we are and that we have. We've proven that time and time again. We can't live on last year."

Rodriguez walked in a run in the ninth before getting Lance Berkman to fly out with the bases loaded to nail down his second save since taking over as the team's closer Tuesday night.

Cardinals players still believe they're better than their recent performances would indicate.

"I'm not frustrated," Berkman said. "I think we're a good team, and we'll either get it done or we won't."

Norichika Aoki led off the bottom of the first by reaching on an error by Rafael Furcal, who charged a grounder but dropped it as he tried to get the ball out of his glove to make a throw. Nyjer Morgan then singled and Wainwright hit Aramis Ramirez on the left elbow with a 91-mph breaking ball. Ramirez stayed in the game, and Corey Hart hit a two-run single.

Wainwright then got two quick outs and appeared to be out of the inning when Carlos Gomez hit a grounder to Furcal. But Furcal's throw to first was offline for his second error of the inning, which allowed Ramirez to score. Berkman also was charged with an error on the play when he fell and lost the ball, which allowed Hart to score and give the Brewers a 4-0 lead.

"We've been defending very well," Matheny said. "Couple odd plays ended up hurting us."

Wainwright recovered to go seven innings. He gave up four runs, one earned, and four hits with nine strikeouts and no walks.

Brewers starter Tyler Thornburg went 4 2/3 innings. He gave up two runs on a pair of solo homers. Thornburg was making his second career start after the Brewers decided to push Zack Greinke's scheduled turn back to next week.

Thornburg had his big league debut against Toronto on June 19, a no-decision, and has made a relief appearance for the Brewers.