ST. LOUIS (Interstat) — Shane Drohan pitched six strong innings and the Milwaukee Brewers erupted for four runs in the seventh inning to rally past the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 on Monday night at Busch Stadium III.

Drohan allowed one earned run on six hits while striking out two and walking two, improving to 4-2 on the season. The left-hander, who entered the game with back-to-back wins against Cincinnati on July 1 and June 24, kept the Brewers within striking distance as St. Louis built a 3-0 lead through six innings.

Trevor Megill earned his 14th save of the season by working a scoreless ninth inning, allowing one hit and striking out two. Chad Patrick contributed two scoreless innings of relief, striking out two and yielding no hits. Milwaukee improved to 56-33, the best record in the National League. St. Louis fell to 47-41.

The game was scoreless through the first two innings. St. Louis struck first in the third. Pedro Pagés singled sharply to center field off Drohan. JJ Wetherholt reached on a fielder’s choice, and a fielding error by second baseman Brice Turang allowed Pagés to advance to second. After Iván Herrera popped out, Jordan Walker walked to load the bases. Nelson Velázquez grounded into a force out at second, scoring Pagés for a 1-0 lead. José Fermín followed with a line-drive single to center, driving in Wetherholt to make it 2-0.

The Cardinals extended the lead in the sixth. Velázquez doubled sharply to left field off Drohan. After a sacrifice bunt by Fermín moved Velázquez to third, Masyn Winn singled to left, scoring Velázquez for a 3-0 advantage.

Milwaukee’s offense had been quiet against St. Louis starter Dustin May, who threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out seven. May exited after the fifth with the Cardinals holding a 2-0 lead. Ryan Fernandez took over in the seventh.

The Brewers’ rally began with one out in the top of the seventh. Garrett Mitchell singled softly off reliever Justin Bruihl. Sal Frelick followed with a ground-rule double to right, sending Mitchell to third. Cooper Pratt then reached on a fielding error by Fernandez, loading the bases. David Hamilton delivered the key hit, a double to right field that scored Mitchell and Frelick, cutting the deficit to 3-2. Pratt advanced to third. Christian Yelich walked to load the bases again. Jackson Chourio grounded into a force out at home, with Pratt thrown out at the plate. However, Brice Turang lined a single to left, scoring Ortiz and Yelich to give Milwaukee a 4-3 lead. William Contreras grounded into a double play to end the inning.

The Cardinals threatened in the ninth when Winn singled off Megill. But Nathan Church popped out, and Megill struck out Alec Burleson and Bryan Torres to seal the victory.

David Hamilton went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a double. Garrett Mitchell also had two hits. For St. Louis, Fermín had two hits and an RBI, while Velázquez drove in a run and doubled.

St. Louis starter Gordon Graceffo threw two scoreless innings of relief, striking out two without allowing a hit. Ryne Stanek contributed a scoreless eighth. Chad Patrick’s two shutout innings bridged the gap from Drohan to Megill.

The win was Milwaukee’s fourth in its last six games. The Brewers entered the game after taking two of three from Arizona. St. Louis had won four of its previous six, including a 17-1 rout of the Cubs on Friday.

Milwaukee and St. Louis continue their four-game series Tuesday with a doubleheader, followed by games Wednesday and Thursday. The Brewers then travel to Pittsburgh for a three-game set, while the Cardinals host Atlanta over the weekend.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Milwaukee 6, St. Louis 5, with the Brewers holding a 58.80 percent win probability according to Interstat’s ELO system. Milwaukee was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 7 went over the over/under line of 8.