ST. LOUIS -- Put the champagne on ice. But be sure to save some for Brewers catcher William Contreras’ ailing glove hand.
Milwaukee’s magic number to clinch the National League Central fell all the way to one when the Cubs lost in Cincinnati on Saturday evening and the Brewers beat the Cardinals, 3-2 in 10 innings at Busch Stadium on Brice Turang’s two-out single and left-hander Jared Koenig’s two scoreless innings of high-pressure relief.
That means Milwaukee will go into Sunday’s series finale vs. St. Louis needing either a victory over the Cards or another Cubs loss to the Reds to seal the Crew’s third consecutive division title and fourth in the last five years.
The Brewers will hold their breath, though, about the health of star catcher Contreras after he departed the game after being hit on the left (glove) hand by a swing.
That play happened in the seventh inning with Cardinals designated hitter Iván Herrera at the plate, and it resulted in a catcher’s interference. Contreras, who has played all season with a fractured middle finger on that hand, remained in the game after a conversation with manager Pat Murphy and a member of the athletic training staff, then returned to his position to catch flamethrowing reliever Abner Uribe in the eighth.
That lasted only two pitches, and there was no discussion this time. As Murphy was walking toward him, Contreras turned him around and walked directly into the dugout.
Contreras’ value to the Brewers goes far beyond his 17 home runs and .767 OPS, since he’s the quarterback for Milwaukee’s pitching staff. In this series alone, Contreras was poised to catch three consecutive rookie starters, with Jacob Misiorowski and Chad Patrick pitching the first two games and left-hander Robert Gasser expected to come off the injured list for Sunday’s series finale.
The Brewers’ backup catcher is veteran Danny Jansen, who was acquired from the Rays at the Trade Deadline. Eric Haase, who was with Milwaukee all season until the Jansen trade, is the top catcher for Triple-A Nashville.