Ex-Cardinals Players Get Last Laugh as Playoff-Bound Brewers Beat St. Louis for 10th time in 2026

In a game with St. Louis Cardinals players and ex-Cardinals scattered all over American Family Field, the playoff-bound ex-Cardinals got the last laugh when Milwaukee beat St. Louis for a 10th time in 12 meetings this season.

Facing JoJo Romero and Dustin May for the first time since the Aug. 3 trade that sent them from the Cardinals to the Brewers, St. Louis rookie starter Quinn Mathews surrendered a go-ahead two-run homer to Brice Turang in the fifth inning and Milwaukee hung on for a 3-2 win on the next-to-last night of the MLB regular season.

Cardinals’ slugger Alec Burleson mashed a 432-foot homer off May in the third inning to push his RBI total to 116 – the most in MLB and three ahead of Baltimore’s Pete Alonso. Burleson is trying to become the first Cardinals player to lead MLB in RBI since Joe Torre did it in 1971.

"The consistency (from Burleson) is what stands out here," manager Oliver Marmol said to Cardinals TV. "It's one thing to put a good month together, but this guy has been locked in the whole year. He continues to hit for power and also do what the game is calling for by driving in runs and helping us win on both sides of the ball. He's had a good year defensively and then offensively it's been special one as well. So, a lot of credit to him to just stay focused for 162 (games)."  

Burleson will head into Sunday’s regular-season finale with a .280 batting average, 26 homers and 116 RBI, and a good shot at winning his second straight Silver Slugger award. Braves’ first baseman Matt Olson should be Burleson’s top challenger for the National League first base award with his 41 homers, 93 RBI and .252 batting average.

A Cardinals franchise that answered several roster and personnel questions this season and offered opportunities for breakout seasons for Jordan Walker, JJ Wetherholt, Riley O’Brien and Burleson also got another stark reminder of just how far they still have to go to catch up to the surging Brewers. Saturday’s loss dropped the Cardinals 25 games back of the Brewers, who have beaten them every game so far in Milwaukee and in 10 of 12 meetings so far this season.

The Cardinals scored first on Saturday night when Walker singled and stole second base for his 22nd swipe of the season. Walker came around to score on a single by Thomas Saggese, who has used a dazzling September to clear up many of the questions about his potential following a slow start to the season that landed him back in Triple-A Memphis. Saggese, who was recalled on Aug. 30 when Wetherholt went on the Injured List with right wrist tendinitis, came into Saturday with 19 hits in September – three of them for doubles and three for homers.

Just last week, Walker became the first Cardinals player since Tommy Pham in 2017 to join the 20-homer, 20-stolen base club. Walker will head into the 162nd game of the season with career highs in homers (29) and stolen bases (22).

After Burleson’s majestic homer to give the Cards a 2-0 lead, the Brewers cut the deficit in half with a Brandon Lockridge double and a run-scoring single from blossoming star Jackson Chourio.

Rookie left-hander Quinn Mathews, who was making his last start of the 2026 season, struck out five over the game’s first four innings before running into trouble in the fifth inning. He fanned the first two of the fifth inning before Chourio reached on a tapper just a few feet away from home plate.

Showing the frustration of surrendering that infield single, Mathews hung a slider in the middle of the plate and Turang hit it 421 feet for his 21st homer of the season. Turang, a player who should get Most Valuable Player votes, pushed his RBI total to 99.

"That was a really good outing for (Mathews)," Marmol said. "He showed really well and he had threw 67 percent strikes, which is awesome for him. He got ahead of a lot of guys -- I think 17 of 21 with a couple of first-pitch outs, which is what you want to see in this last outing to finish strong. That last (slider) backed up and Turang hit it for a homer, but I thought he pitched really well and landed a lot of secondary stuff for strikes. He's got enough you and he can get swing and miss in and out of the zone. So, tonight was a good night for him."