ST. LOUIS (Interstat) — The Milwaukee Brewers erupted for seven runs in the seventh inning to break open a taut contest and defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-2 on Tuesday in the first game of a doubleheader at Busch Stadium III.

Robert Gasser pitched six innings for the victory, improving to 2-3, while Hunter Dobbins took the loss after allowing three earned runs over five frames, falling to 1-1.

The Brewers, who have won two straight after a loss to the Cardinals on Monday, improved to 58-33. St. Louis dropped to 47-43.

Milwaukee opened the scoring in the third inning. Cooper Pratt led off with a triple to right field, his first of the season. After Joey Ortiz struck out, Christian Yelich grounded out to shortstop Masyn Winn, driving in Pratt from third for a 1-0 lead.

The Brewers added two runs in the fifth. Gary Sánchez walked and Sal Frelick flied out. Pratt then walked, putting runners at first and second. Ortiz singled sharply to right, loading the bases. Yelich struck out, but Luis Lara followed with a ground-ball single to right that scored Sánchez and Pratt, giving Milwaukee a 3-0 advantage.

Cardinals starter Dobbins had kept his team in the game, striking out four and scattering four hits through five innings. But St. Louis broke through in the sixth.

With one out, Jordan Walker singled to center. Nelson Velázquez then launched his fourth home run of the season to center field, scoring Walker and tying the game at 3-3. The Cardinals threatened no further as Alec Burleson grounded out to end the inning.

Milwaukee responded immediately in the top of the seventh against Cardinals reliever Jared Shuster. Ortiz led off by homering to left-center, his third of the year, giving the Brewers a 4-2 lead. Yelich struck out, but Luis Lara walked. Brice Turang then doubled to center, scoring Lara to make it 5-2. Andrew Vaughn singled to shortstop, with the ball deflected by second baseman JJ Wetherholt, moving Turang to third. Jake Bauers walked to load the bases. Gary Sánchez then singled to left, driving in Turang and Vaughn to extend the lead to 7-2. Jackson Chourio followed with a single to center, scoring pinch-runner Garrett Mitchell and advancing Sánchez to second. Cooper Pratt capped the rally with a double to left, scoring Sánchez and Chourio to make it 10-2. Ortiz lined out and Yelich grounded out to end the inning.

Shuster was charged with seven earned runs on five hits in just 1 1/3 innings. Bryan Torres pitched two scoreless innings for the Cardinals, allowing no hits and striking out one.

The Brewers had 10 hits in the game, while the Cardinals managed four. St. Louis’ only other scoring opportunity came in the sixth with the Velázquez homer. Milwaukee starter Gasser allowed two runs on four hits, walked one and struck out five. He was relieved by a Brewers bullpen that held the Cardinals scoreless over the final three innings.

In the seventh, the Cardinals went down in order. Masyn Winn grounded out, José Fermín flied out and pinch-hitter Blaze Jordan lined out. In the eighth, Nathan Church struck out, Wetherholt flied out and pinch-hitter Jimmy Crooks was hit by a pitch, but Walker lined out to end the threat.

Milwaukee’s defense also made key plays. In the second inning, shortstop Cooper Pratt and second baseman Brice Turang turned a force out on Blaze Jordan to end the inning. In the third, right fielder Sal Frelick made a pair of catches on line drives by Nathan Church and Wetherholt.

The Brewers’ early runs were manufactured with two-out production. In the third, Pratt’s triple set up Yelich’s RBI groundout. In the fifth, Sánchez’s walk and Pratt’s walk preceded Ortiz’s single and Lara’s two-run single, all with two outs.

St. Louis had chances in the early innings. In the first, Jordan Walker singled but was left stranded. In the second, Fermín singled with two outs but was erased on a force play. In the third, Iván Herrera walked but the next batter grounded out.

Defensively, the Cardinals committed one error. In the eighth, Wetherholt misplayed a ground ball off the bat of Andrew Vaughn, allowing Vaughn to reach safely, but the Brewers did not score further.

The designated hitter was used by both teams, with Milwaukee’s Gary Sánchez serving as DH and St. Louis using Bryan Torres as a pitcher and also batting once; Torres struck out on a foul tip in the ninth.

The game lasted 2 hours, 38 minutes before an announced crowd of 20,399.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Milwaukee Brewers 6, St. Louis Cardinals 5. Interstat’s ELO system gave Milwaukee a 58.80 percent probability to win. The Brewers were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The combined total of 12 runs went under the over-under line of 7.5.