Brewers give Lohse ball in matchup with Cardinals

Righty Kyle Lohse gets his second crack at St. Louis since leaving in the offseason when the Milwaukee Brewers host the Cardinals in the second game of a four-game series at Miller Park.

Lohse visited St. Louis in his second appearance with the Brewers on April 12 and took a 2-0 loss after allowing two runs on six hits in seven innings of work.

He was 16-3 with the Cardinals last season and won 55 games with them in five seasons before signing a three-year, $33 million deal in March.

Lohse is 2-3 in six career starts against St. Louis.

He's opposed by 22-year-old Shelby Miller, who earned the victory in the April 12 game after allowing a single hit and striking out eight in seven innings.

That victory was Miller's second in a row to begin the season and has since been followed by a win and two losses, in which he's allowed 16 hits and seven runs in 18 1/3 innings.

His last start ended in a 9-0 loss to Pittsburgh after he was touched for three runs in 5 2/3 innings.

The April game against Milwaukee was the first in the career for Miller, who debuted with six appearances for St. Louis in 2012.

On Thursday, Allen Craig and Pete Kozma drove in two runs apiece to lead the Cardinals past the Brewers, 6-5.

Yadier Molina and David Freese both added two hits and an RBI for the Cardinals, winners in seven of their last 10 games.

Jake Westbrook (2-1) yielded just one run on six hits while striking out four over six innings and earning his 100th victory. Edward Mujica allowed one run, but stranded a runner in the ninth to pick up his seventh save of the season.

"It was exciting to watch the guys celebrate with him," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.

Ryan Braun and Carlos Gomez both had two hits and drove in a run, while Jean Segura, Martin Maldonado and Alex Gonzalez added one RBI apiece for the Brewers, losers in five of their last eight.

Wily Peralta (2-2) was saddled with the loss after giving up six runs on 11 hits over 4 1/3 innings.

The Cardinals won two of three games against Milwaukee in an April series in St. Louis and took nine of 15 games in 2012. Milwaukee last won the series, 8-7, in 2010.