Cards drop from playoff ranks with loss to Crew

ST. LOUIS — On a night when the Cardinals could have climbed to the top of the National League Wild Card standings, they instead played themselves right out of postseason position. With yet another ugly performance in front of the home crowd on Thursday, the Cardinals took a 12-5 punch to the gut from the Brewers, who hadn’t scored that many off St. Louis since July 2010.

Behind a three-RBI night from Hernan Perez and three home runs from the bottom half of their order, the Brewers battered a Cardinals team that had won 11 of the first 14 meetings between the two clubs. The loss not only dropped the Cardinals to 30-38 at Busch Stadium this season, but it bumped them out of a tie with the Mets for the second Wild Card spot.

The Giants, who own the top Wild Card spot, now hold a one-game advantage over the Cardinals in that race.

The Brewers, winners in six of their last seven, jumped on Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia for five runs over the first four innings. Domingo Santana and Orlando Arcia connected for homers on consecutive pitches in the second, and Brewers starter Junior Guerra sparked a two-run third with the first of his two hits on a night in which he improved his record to 8-3.

A six-run sixth in which the Brewers sent 10 batters to the plate against relievers Mike Mayers and Dean Kiekhefer erased the chance for any potential late-inning intrigue. Perez tied his career high with a four-hit night. Arcia turned in a three-hit game. And …

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