Cards get 10th win in 13 games vs. Brewers

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Derrick Turnbow is finally throwing strikes now. Unfortunately for the Brewers, the Cardinals are well aware of that.

Skip Schumaker doubled in the go-ahead run in the ninth and St. Louis put Turnbow's first three pitches in play to overcome a fielding blunder in the eighth in a 4-3 win over Milwaukee on Monday night.

Schumaker had been 0-for-4 before his hit.

"I was fortunate enough to get the barrel on it," said Schumaker, who uncharacteristically showed emotion at second base. "It was just a little clap to the hands, I think. I don't try to show too emotion on the field. Yeah, I was happy."

Brian Barton, who pinch hit for reliever Ryan Franklin, doubled off a 95 mph fastball from Turnbow (0-1) to start the inning. After Cesar Izturis sacrificed Barton to second by bunting a 96 mph fastball, Schumaker came up and took another 95 mph fastball to the wall for an RBI double.

"They were coming up, being aggressive, ambushing me a little bit," said Turnbow, who has walked six batters in five appearances this season after walking 46 last year. "I felt like I made two good pitches, both strikes, both down. They just put the bat on the ball."

Turnbow, who has been frustrated since he's no longer the primary set-up man, has failed to inspire any confidence for the Brewers since his precipitous decline starting July 2006. After converting 62 of his first 70 save chances with a 2.60 ERA, he's only converted two of nine with a 6.75 ERA in his last 109 games.

"He was the freshest arm that we had out there, been throwing the ball decent," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "Hasn't been given much of an opportunity. He's an All-Star pitcher."

Or was one.

Now he's just another questionable arm as one of the two holdovers in a bullpen rebuilt this offseason.

"The fact is we're going to need this kid this year," Yost said. "We're going to need him to be the person that he was when he was an All-Star pitcher."

After seven strong innings from Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright, Franklin (1-1) got the win despite giving up an unearned run by limiting the damage in the eighth, and Jason Isringhausen earned his seventh save in eight chances with a perfect ninth on six pitches.

It appeared the Brewers had all the momentum before Franklin stopped them cold.

With St. Louis leading 3-2, Ryan Braun doubled to start the eighth inning and right fielder Ryan Ludwick charged hard on a fly ball from Corey Hart, but slipped and lost the ball in the lights.

It nearly hit him in the head, but instead bounced harmlessly behind him for a triple that left Hart shaking his head in disbelief at his RBI that tied it at 3 after he made an errant play himself in the top half of the inning.

But Franklin didn't allow Milwaukee to take the lead as Hart was caught in a rundown when he tried to score on contact off a chopper by Bill Hall and J.J. Hardy grounded out to end the inning.

"Instead of getting discouraged -- he has a guy on third base to win the game -- he made a great pitch to Hall," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "He was like our club. We had some tough situations and nobody lost their composure."

In the top half of the eighth, St. Louis went ahead 3-2 as a result of Hart's gaffe in right field on Ludwick's fly ball that hit the webbing of Hart's glove to put Ludwick on third with no outs.

Hart said he lost the ball in the lights, too.

"At last second, it went right in that glare," Hart said. "They're bright. It's just one of those things. Balls like that that are kind of medium are tough to see."

Reliever Brian Shouse, who came in to start the eighth after Carlos Villanueva retired 13 of his last 14 batters, walked Albert Pujols -- he had three of St. Louis' seven in the game and has reached base safely every game this season -- and got Rick Ankiel to pop out.

But reliever Guillermo Mota couldn't keep the Cardinals off the board after walking Troy Glaus despite having him down 0-2. With the bases loaded, Adam Kennedy's sacrifice fly gave St. Louis a 3-2 lead.

Yost said both teams gave each other opportunities, but La Russa didn't find much joy in it outside of the win.

"I'd rather stay away from the dramatics. We had lost two in a row and I think it's important because it's the first game of the series and we got back on the winning side," he said. "We've had a lot of games like this already."

Game notes
Brewers ace Ben Sheets (right triceps) will miss his scheduled start Wednesday. Dave Bush will take his place in the rotation. ... In extended spring training, Brewers new acquisition, RHP Jeff Weaver, pitched four innings, GM Doug Melvin said. Weaver was signed Wednesday to a minor league contract that would be worth $1.25 million in salary if he's called up. ... The Cardinals activated RHP Russ Springer before the game and sent INF Rico Washington back to the minors.