ST. LOUIS (Interstat) — Iván Herrera hit a two-run homer, José Fermín drove in three runs and the St. Louis Cardinals delayed Milwaukee’s division-clinching party, beating the Brewers 5-1 on Sunday afternoon.

The Brewers, who entered the day with a magic number of one to secure the NL Central crown, would have celebrated with a victory. Instead, they were left to wait for the result of the Chicago Cubs’ game at Cincinnati. Milwaukee’s record stands at 95-61.

Matthew Liberatore (8-12) was the catalyst for the Cardinals’ victory, holding Milwaukee’s lineup in check. The left-hander struck out six over five innings, allowing just one run on five hits to earn the win.

The game was a pitcher’s duel through the first two innings before St. Louis broke through against Brewers starter Robert Gasser (0-1) in the third. Victor Scott II worked a walk, and two batters later, Herrera launched his 17th home run of the season, a fly ball to left-center field that gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

St. Louis added to its advantage in the fourth against reliever Erick Fedde. After walks to Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman, Fermín doubled on a fly ball to left field, clearing the bases and extending the lead to 4-0.

Milwaukee managed its only run in the fifth inning. Joey Ortiz tripled to right field and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Jackson Chourio, cutting the deficit to 4-1.

The Cardinals’ bullpen took over from there, silencing the Brewers’ bats over the final four frames. Matt Svanson pitched two scoreless innings, Ryan Fernandez struck out two in a perfect seventh, and Riley O’Brien closed out the ninth.

St. Louis added an insurance run in the eighth. Herrera walked, advanced to third on a single by Alec Burleson and a sacrifice bunt, and then scored on a bases-loaded walk by Fermín.

Despite being outhit 7-3, the Cardinals capitalized on their opportunities, going 1 for 5 with runners in scoring position while the Brewers went 0 for 9 and left nine men on base.

The loss snaps a recent pattern in the season series; the two teams had split the first two games of this series, with the home team winning each contest. St. Louis improves to 76-80 with the victory.

The game was played in 2 hours, 28 minutes before an announced attendance of 32,723 at Busch Stadium.

Milwaukee now travels to San Diego for a three-game series starting Monday, still seeking the one win or one Chicago loss needed to clinch the division. The Cardinals head to San Francisco to begin a three-game set against the Giants on Monday.