The Milwaukee Brewers were able to edge out a series-opening win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday 4-3 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

Milwaukee’s one-run victory was its second in as many days. So, how did it happen?

Left-hander Shane Drohan got the starting nod for the Brewers on Monday and, with the help of the defense, he got through the first two innings relatively unscathed.

Then, in the bottom of the third, the Cardinals broke through.

The frame began with Drohan giving up a leadoff single to Pedro Pages before JJ Wetherholt subsequently reached on a fielder's choice. Pages also reached second base safely due to a fielding error by Brice Turang, and Drohan suddenly had two men on and no one out.

After forcing a pop out, Drohan gave up a walk to load the bases, and a groundout by Nelson Velazquez scored the first run of the evening and gave the Cardinals the lead. Drohan proceeded to give up an RBI single before getting out of the inning with a strikeout, and Milwaukee had to navigate a 2-0 deficit.

Drohan ended up staying in the game and, for the majority of the middle innings, he was able to stave off the Cardinals’ batting order. However, in the bottom of the sixth, he gave up a double and a single that tacked on another run for St. Louis.

Drohan was able to get out of the inning again, but the Brewers’ offense had not yet contributed to the scoreboard. They found themselves down 3-0, and time was running out.

But, in the top of the seventh, their fortunes changed.

Milwaukee was down to its final nine outs, so something needed to happen relatively quickly. Garrett Mitchell got things going.

Mitchell opened the inning with a leadoff single, and St. Louis went back to its bullpen, this time calling on right-hander Ryan Fernandez. Sal Frelick took advantage of the pitching change by hitting a ground-rule double off Fernandez, and the latter allowed the bases to load due to a fielding error that saw Cooper Pratt reach first base safely.

Then, David Hamilton delivered a two-run double to right field to make it a 3-2 game, and the Cardinals went back to their bullpen again. At that point, though, the Brewers were beginning to surge, and St. Louis could not do much about it.

Right-hander Ryne Stanek replaced Fernandez to try and get out of the inning, but Milwaukee continued to produce quality at-bats.

Christian Yelich walked to load the bases yet again and, even though the Brewers missed out on a chance to tie the game when Cooper Pratt was thrown out at home after Jackson Chourio hit a grounder, they responded.

With one out and the bases still full, Turang stepped up to the plate and made up for his earlier error by hitting a two-run single to give Milwaukee a 4-3 lead. After William Contreras grounded into a double play that ended the four-run inning, the Brewers let the momentum translate to their defense, specifically the pitching.

After Drohan’s night ended, manager Pat Murphy relied on two relievers to finish the job: Chad Patrick and Trevor Megill. They did not disappoint.

Patrick provided two innings of no-hit baseball while striking out two batters, and Megill closed the game with two strikeouts of his own while only allowing one hit. After trailing for most of the night, the Brewers found a way to get their 56th win of the season.

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