ST. LOUIS – For the second consecutive night at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals loaded the bases in the ninth inning against Devin Williams. On Tuesday, with the game on the line, Williams struck out Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Gorman to strand three and escape with a Brewers victory.

Wednesday’s air bent in a different direction, and the Cardinals walked off the Brewers in a 10-6 loss in the second game of this series.

Williams hit Willson Contreras with a pitch to lead off the ninth and then walked each of Lars Nootbaar, Matt Carpenter and Tommy Pham, the latter two to force in runs which tied the game. It was Williams’ first blown save of the season in six opportunities since returning from the injured list, and the first of the St. Louis native’s career at Busch Stadium.

José Fermín doubled following the hit by pitch to account for the sole hit recorded against the Brewers’ closer among the five baserunners he allowed.

“He got tired,” manager Pat Murphy said. “He got tired for sure, going on back-to-back nights for the second time this year. He gave up a hit by pitch and a ball down the right-field line – a good piece of hitting – and then lost his command.”

Murphy was ejected in the bottom of the ninth inning for arguing balls and strikes as Trevor Megill threw his warmup pitches in relief of Williams.

In his eight prior appearances this season, Williams had allowed just one earned run and two walks, but appearing for the fifth time in the last eight days, he lacked his typical pinpoint command.

“If I’m honest, maybe,” Williams said when asked if he felt the effects of fatigue. “I don’t know. What it comes down to is I didn’t have command of either pitch today. Was able to make it work for a little bit there, and then those last two hitters, I couldn’t throw a strike to save my life.”

Megill entered with two out in the ninth in his own return from the injured list. He induced a groundout to second to end the inning, but would surrender a walk-off grand slam to Nolan Arenado in the tenth after walking two hitters (one intentional) of his own.

Rookies Jackson Chourio and Joey Ortiz each made big contributions to the Milwaukee offense, with Chourio becoming the youngest player in the Majors to record a four-hit game since Juan Soto on June 29, 2018.

Ortiz drove a two-out, two-run double to the base of the wall in left-center field in the top of the eighth inning to give him three RBIs on the night. Chourio delivered a triple and a run scored in the sixth and a two-run single in the seventh to account for three runs of his own.

“Got some great, great contributions,” Murphy said. “Jackson, [William] Contreras continue to swing the bat great, Joey Ortiz came up big. He had a great game all the way around.”

Tobias Myers had to grind through his first career start at Busch Stadium, requiring 90 pitches to finish just four innings. He allowed six hits and two walks while striking out five, but did manage to leave six St. Louis runners stranded. The outing was his shortest this month and just the second time he was unable to complete five innings in 13 starts since May 31.

“Definitely just one of those games you kind of just forget about,” Myers said. “I feel good, so let’s move on from it.”

“He wasn’t throwing the ball the way he normally does, but nonetheless, he did an admirable job without his best stuff,” Murphy added.

Bryan Hudson, a native of Alton, Ill., in the St. Louis metro area, allowed a pinch-hit, two-run homer to Luken Baker which briefly tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning.

As Murphy explained, “Hudson made one bad pitch, and he knows it.”

Williams, the two-time Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year, has been an embodiment of Milwaukee’s success in pitching development. As the Crew turns toward the postseason, he’ll be handed the ball in big spots under bright lights in their most important games of the year.

Wednesday was the first time Williams has walked three in a single outing since Aug. 20, 2022. The lack of command isn’t habitual; rather, it’s likely the result of working Williams back into his familiar habits.

“I didn't want to go past a certain number of pitches, but I knew he still had the opportunity for the save there,” Murphy explained when asked if he considered relieving Williams with Megill earlier than he did. “I knew he's in those situations for a reason. You don't want to bring another pitcher in the game in that situation.”

There are very few situations in which the Brewers don’t want Williams in the game, and Wednesday will do nothing to change that.