Brewers earn eerily familiar win over Cardinals after overcoming late no-hit bid

The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in an unlikely fashion on Wednesday afternoon, completing a late-May sweep of their division rivals and growing their lead in the NL Central to 4.5 games.

It was an unlikely victory for the Crew because of just how dominant Cardinals' starter Dustin May looked for the first seven innings of the game. The long-time Los Angeles Dodger, who the Cardinals signed this offseason, carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning and was maintaining a low pitch count despite racking up nine strikeouts in the process. Simply put, May was dominant, and the Brewers hitters looked lost against the Cardinals' right-hander.

However, when May returned to the mound for the eighth frame, just six outs away from the first solo no-hitter of the 2026 season, Garrett Mitchell led the inning off with a double over the head of left fielder Bryan Torres, breaking up the no-hit bid.

Meanwhile, the Brewers were down just one run despite not having a single hit through the first seven innings of the game, thanks to a strong effort from the trio of Chad Patrick, Shane Drohan, and Aaron Ashby. As a result, with Mitchell suddenly in scoring position with no outs in the bottom of the eighth, the Brewers weren't just happy to break up the no-hitter; they had their sights set on a victory and a series sweep as well.

Luis Rengifo followed Mitchell's double with a bunt single, giving the Brewers runners on the corners with nobody out. After Sal Frelick bounced into a fielder's choice that kept Mitchell at third base and Andrew Vaughn struck out looking, Christian Yelich stepped to the plate with two outs and the tying run still 90 feet away. Facing a tough left-hander in JoJo Romero, who had since replaced May, Yelich bounced an RBI single up the middle and tied the game at 1-1.

Following Yelich's RBI single, Jackson Chourio bounced a ground ball to shortstop Maysn Winn, who committed a fielding error and allowed the go-ahead run to score from third base. With a 2-1 lead, Trevor Megill closed out the Brewers' victory in the top of the ninth, and Milwaukee racked up their third series sweep of the month.

It was certainly an improbable win for the Brew Crew, but it should also feel eerily familiar for Brewers fans. Just eight years ago, during the Brewers' memorable 2018 season, Milwaukee earned a similarly unlikely victory over the Redbirds after being no-hit for the first six innings of the game.

Brewers' come-from-behind victory over Cardinals should remind fans of Jesús Aguilar's memorable performance in 2018

Back on June 22 of 2018, the Brewers were facing the Cardinals at then-Miller Park in a four-game weekend series. In game two, Milwaukee faced rookie right-hander Jack Flaherty, who was in the midst of a breakout inaugural campaign.

Flaherty no-hit the Brewers for the first 6.1 innings of the game, but similar to this afternoon's contest, St. Louis only built a one-run lead. With one out in the seventh, Brewers' first baseman Jesús Aguilar broke up Flaherty's no-hit bid with a solo shot to left-center that tied the game at 1-1.

Two innings later, with the game still tied in the bottom of the ninth, Aguilar hit an opposite-field, walk-off homer, giving the Brewers a 2-1 win -- the same score that they won by this afternoon.

In both games, the Brewers' offense looked lost for a majority of the game, only to turn around and win the contest in an unlikely fashion. In today's game, Megill, who has had an inconsistent start to the season after an All-Star 2025 campaign, closed out the victory in the ninth inning, and back in 2018, Corey Knebel, who similarly was struggling after an All-Star 2017 season, pitched the final frame.

The Brewers didn't need a homer to win today's game like they did back in 2018, but in both instances, Milwaukee's relentless approach and strong pitching performances allowed them to escape with a win despite their offense being dormant for much of the contest.

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