Dustin May didn't allow a hit over seven innings, but he saw his no-hitter and a potential win disappear in the eighth as the Brewers swept the Cardinals in Milwaukee for the first time since 2011. The Cards were 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position on Wednesday and 0 for 17 in the series.
Six outs from the franchise’s first no-hitter in nearly 25 years and in position to grab a much-needed victory over the rival Brewers, the Cardinals suffered one of their most painful gut-punch losses of the season on Wednesday in Milwaukee.
Dustin May saw his no-hit bid end early in the eighth inning, and the Cardinals’ tenuous, one-run lead disappeared minutes later on an RBI single by Chrisitan Yelich and a run-scoring error by Gold Glove shortstop Masyn Winn. The result was a 2-1 loss to the rival Brewers and the Cardinals first three-game sweep in Milwaukee since 2011.
“It was a good game and our guy pitched really, really well,” manager Oliver Marmol told Cardinals.TV, referring to May. “We knew we were going to need more than one (run) to take this, but overall, I liked the way that we played. One the wrong side of it, but the competition was good.”
May, who was brilliant and efficient over the first seven innings while striking out nine, saw his no-hit bid ended early in the eighth inning when he fell behind Garrett Mitchell 2-0 before the Brewers’ slugger lined a ball 107.9 mph into the left-center gap that rookie Bryan Torres couldn’t run down. After Luis Rengifo laid down a bunt single, JoJo Romero relieved May and retired the first two batters he faced.
Then, Yelich – long a Cardinals killer whether in the middle of the Milwaukee lineup or at the top of it – tied the game with a single up the middle. Then, the Brewers grabbed the lead when Winn booted Jackson Chourio’s infield grounder. Winn, who made just three errors in 501 chances in 2025, committed his fifth error in 215 chances in 2026.
May, who has gotten one or fewer runs in five of his last six starts, saw the Cardinals go 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position on Wednesday, while leaving seven on base. For the series, the Cards did not have a hit with a runner in scoring position (0 for 17) and they stranded 17 runners.
“It’s something we’re working on, Marmol said. “At the end of the day, the guys across the way did a better job than we did as far as execution. You learn from it and this is a group that is enjoying competing and you just keep going.”
May breezed through the first seven innings
Bud Smith’s no-hitter on Sept. 3, 2001, in San Diego still stands as the last Cardinals’ pitcher to fire a no-no.
May breezed through the first seven innings of no-hit baseball while striking out nine. The only two Brewers to reach through the first six innings was Jake Bauers, who was hit on the toe in the second inning and Sal Frelich on a catcher’s interference to lead off the third inning. May then retired the next 15 in a row and got a huge lift to end the fifth inning from his defense. Masyn Winn ranged on the first base side of second to field Frelich’s slow roller and Alec Burleson scooped the shortstop’s low throw to end the fifth inning.
May needed just 82 pitches to get through the first seven innings and he got 12 swings and misses. May elicited whiffs on six of his first 21 sweepers and got five more on his sweeper. He ended the seventh inning when he caught Bauers looking on a 97.1 mph four-seam fastball and vigorously pumped his fist in celebration.
“The way the ball was coming out today was really good,” Marmol said of May. “His fastball was good, sweeper was incredible, the cutter and all if … so, I enjoyed watching him get after it today.”
The Cardinals grabbed a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when Jordan Walker recorded his second hit of the day – and the Cardinals’ 13th single of the series – and he came around to score on Bryan Torres’ first MLB triple. Torres, who made his long-awaited MLB debut last Saturday in Cincinnati, has six hits and three RBI in his first week in the big leagues.
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