Brewers suffer testy 7-3 loss to Cards

Time is running out on the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers wasted a chance to cut their NL Central deficit to one game, giving up a first-inning home run to Albert Pujols in a testy 7-3 loss Wednesday night to the St. Louis Cardinals that saw two more hit batters and a pair of ejections.

Chicago maintained a two-game division lead with four games to play despite a 7-4 loss at the Florida Marlins. Milwaukee starts a season-ending four-game series Thursday at home against San Diego.

A night after Jeff Suppan threw a high, inside pitch at Pujols, causing St. Louis manager Tony La Russa and Brewers manager Ned Yost to exchange heated words, there was more inside pitching.

Both benches were warned about throwing at each other in the second inning after Brad Thompson (8-6) plunked Prince Fielder on the right shoulder with a high fastball. Fielder got up and stared at the Cardinals dugout while plate umpire Tom Hallion walked him all the way down to first before issuing his warnings.

In the eighth, Pujols was plunked on the elbow by Brewers reliever Seth McClung, who was ejected along with Yost.

Pujols' homer, which gave him 100 RBIs for the seventh straight season, set an early tone but Ryan Braun's two-run double put Milwaukee ahead in the second. St. Louis then went ahead to stay in the third when Ryan Ludwick doubled off Carlos Villanueva (8-5) following an intentional walk to Pujols.

Villanueva never looked comfortable in six innings, allowing three runs, five hits and four walks. St. Louis, already eliminated from contention, blew open the game with four runs in the eighth.

Pujols, recovering from a strained left calf muscle, hit his 32nd homer and became the first player to reach 30 homers and 100 RBIs in seven straight seasons at the start of his career.

Milwaukee used five relievers in the eighth as the game, and perhaps the season, slipped away.

Derrick Turnbow forced in a run with a bases-loaded walk to Kelly Stinnett, and Brian Shouse allowed a two-run double to So Taguchi and an infield RBI single to Aaron Miles.

Milwaukee had its chances early. The Brewers loaded the bases in the second before Corey Hart's inning-ending flyout.

With two on and no outs in the third, Damian Miller grounded into a double play and Villanueva struck out. With two out and two outs in the fourth, Hart fouled out to the catcher.

Thompson, trying to solidify a spot in next year's rotation, allowed two unearned runs and five hits in six innings, retiring his final seven batters. The runs were unearned because of a throwing error by Stinnett on Villaneuva's sacrifice in front of the plate.

Notes:@ Pujols has 282 homers and 858 RBIs along with a .331 career batting average. ... Ted Williams was the last player to hit at least 100 RBIs in each of his first seven seasons, doing so from 1939-49, not counting his war service years, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. ... A day after saying C Johnny Estrada (torn meniscus) would be available to pinch hit, Yost said it was wishful thinking. ... The Cardinals won the season series 8-7.