MILWAUKEE -- For all the attention paid to the potential potency of the top of the Cardinals’ lineup, it was the bottom portion that was left to carry the load in Thursday’s season opener at Miller Park.

Kolten Wong and Harrison Bader, batting seventh and eighth for manager Mike Shildt, combined for three home runs – including the first set of back-to-back Opening Day homers in franchise history – in Thursday’s 5-4 loss to the Brewers.

Wong, with home runs in two of his first three at-bats of the season, also joined Albert Pujols as the only Cardinals to hit multiple homers in an Opening Day game. Pujols accomplished the feat in 2006 and ’10.

“We told ourselves that we’re not going to be satisfied being the seventh and eighth hitters,” Wong said after his second career multihomer game. “We’re going to push ourselves. I’m going to push him. He’s going to push me. We’re going to see if we can bring some magic to the bottom of the lineup.

“This lineup, one through nine, is tough. We know that, and I think those guys know that now. When we’re all clicking, good luck."

That wasn’t so much the case on Thursday, as Wong and Bader accounted for four of the team’s five hits. Jose Martinez nearly had another, but Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain made a leaping grab to rob a home run from Martinez, who was pinch-hitting for Wong against lefty reliever Josh Hader in the ninth.

Wong drilled the club’s first home run on the first pitch he saw from Milwaukee’s Jhoulys Chacin in the second inning. One pitch later, Bader blasted one of his own.

The homers traveled a combined 856 feet and registered exit velocities of 106.5 mph and 110.7 mph, respectively, according to Statcast. Last season, Wong didn’t go deep until the team’s 21st game of the season. And he didn’t hit his second home run until May.

“For me, it’s different. I’m excited for what’s ahead,” Wong said. “My confidence is pretty high. And my confidence in this team is pretty high. It’s just one of those things where I know we’re going to click eventually, and things will start rolling for us.”