MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun hit consecutive homers off Dominic Leone with two out in the ninth, sending the Milwaukee Brewers to a 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

Leone (0-1) retired the first two batters, but then lost Yelich on a 2-2 pitch before Braun whacked the next one for his fourth career game-ending homer.

Dan Jennings (1-0) picked up the victory with a perfect ninth.

Dexter Fowler and Tommy Pham opened the game with consecutive homers for St. Louis, and Marcell Ozuna made it 4-0 with a two-run shot in the third. Jack Flaherty struck out a career-high nine while pitching five innings of one-run ball, but the Cardinals’ bullpen lost the lead.

Yelich started Milwaukee’s rally with a two-out RBI single off the glove of shortstop Paul DeJong in the fifth. The Brewers pulled within one on RBI singles for Travis Shaw and Jonathan Villar in the eighth.

Fowler, mired in a 1-for-18 stretch, drove the first pitch from Chase Anderson into the Cardinals’ bullpen for his 24th career leadoff home run. Pham looked at one pitch and then lined the next one over the wall in deep right-center.

Flaherty kept the Brewers guessing with a two-seam and four-seam fastball and a nasty slider in his sixth career start in seventh appearances. He was recalled March 28 from Triple-A Memphis when Adam Wainwright was placed in the disabled list.

Anderson was charged with four runs and eight hits in four innings.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (0-1, 8.31 ERA) makes his second start of the season. He is 5-4 with a 2.18 ERA in 23 career games against the Brewers, including 12 starts.

Brewers: RHP Jhoulys Chacin (0-0, 10.80 ERA) makes his second start of the season. A free-agent signee, he is 0-5 with a 6.10 ERA in six career games against the Cardinals.

— Associated Press —

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Miles Mikolas won in his first big league game after a three-year stint in Japan, but left his biggest impression at the plate.

Hitting a home run to help spoil the Milwaukee Brewers’ home opener sure was special for the St. Louis Cardinals right-hander.

Paul DeJong connected for the second straight game, hitting his third homer this season, and Mikolas collected his first big league hit with a two-run homer in the Cardinals’ 8-4 win on Monday.

Mikolas (1-0) gave up a two-run homer to Eric Thames and solo shots to Lorenzo Cain and Manny Pina. But the 29-year-old righty benefited from the Cardinals’ own outburst at hitter-friendly Miller Park.

“I guess I figured if I’m going to give up some home runs, I might as well try to get one back, help my cause a little bit,” Mikolas joked.

It was a memorable return to the majors for Mikolas, and a disappointing opener for the Brewers. They lost for first time after opening the season with a three-game sweep at San Diego.

“Any pitcher home run, pitcher RBI, it always feels tough to come back from that,” manager Craig Counsell said.

Mikolas gave up seven hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings in his first big league start since Aug. 25, 2014, when he pitched eight innings for the Texas Rangers in a 2-0 win over Seattle.

He played 37 games for San Diego and Texas in 2012-14. He was 4-6 on the mound and 0 for 4 at the plate.

The power started building in Japan, where Mikolas hit two home runs in three seasons.

He’ll savor his fifth-inning drive off Zach Davies (0-1) that broke a 2-all tie for a while.

“I might remember the home run just because that was a highlight of the day,” Mikolas said. “But looking back I’ll probably look at the mistakes I made as a pitcher … and make myself better moving forward.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals 3B Jedd Gyorko left before the bottom of the seventh with a strained right hamstring. … RHP Adam Wainwright (left hamstring strain) shagged fly balls and grounders during batting practice. Wainwright went on the disabled list on March 26 and is eligible to come off Thursday, which is the Cardinals’ home opener against Arizona. Asked how he felt, Wainwright said with a smile, “That’s what everybody wants to know. It’s a secret.”

Manager Mike Matheny didn’t rule out starting Wainwright for the home opener. “We didn’t take anything off the table,” Matheny said. “Just kind of take all the information in. Just see what happens.”

IT’S A HIT

Nothing like self-motivation on social media to get Dexter Fowler going at the plate. The Cardinals outfielder snapped a 0-for-13 slump to start the season with a third-inning single to center.

Before the game, Fowler wrote “I will get a hit ” 13 times in a tweet. After Fowler broke through, the Indians’ Jose Ramirez and the Astros’ Josh Reddick , posted similar tweets. Both players have also opened the year with extended hitless streaks.

Fowler didn’t last long on the bases though. He was thrown out trying to steal second by Pina following his single.

TURNING POINT

DeJong’s two-run shot, highlighted a four-run sixth that gave St. Louis an 8-2 lead.

The Brewers threatened in the bottom of the sixth. After Thames homered, they put runners on the corners, but reliever Bud Norris struck out Orlando Arcia on a 2-2 slider to end the threat.

The Brewers lost their fourth straight home opener.

“I’d like to win one of these opening day games, that’s first … but business goes on tomorrow. You feel like the rest of the season starts for us tomorrow,” Counsell said.

DAVIES’ DAY

Davies allowed eight hits and seven runs — six earned — over 5 1/3 innings in his season debut. The 25-year-old right-hander is coming off a career-best 17-win season in 2017.

“It was just a bad pitch. Ball slipped middle up, and he crushed it,” Davies said about Mikolas’ homer.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Jack Flaherty makes his first start of the season against the team he faced in the 2017 season finale. He allowed four runs on five hits over five innings on Oct. 1, his only career outing against Milwaukee.

Brewers: RHP Chase Anderson starts in his first turn since tossing six shutout innings to begin the 2-1 win in extra innings on opening day in San Diego. He is 2-2 with a 2.72 ERA in nine career starts against the Cardinals.

— Associated Press —

NEW YORK (AP) — Paul DeJong made the right decision to give up the scalpel, trumpet and piano to concentrate on baseball.

A rising star on the St. Louis Cardinals, the 24-year-old shortstop had the first multihomer game of his young big league career Sunday and helped the St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Mets 5-1 to avoid an opening three-game sweep.

DeJong hit .285 with 25 home runs and 65 RBI as a rookie last year, earning a $26 million, six-year contract. He had 13 homers at Triple-A Memphis before his major league debut on May 28 — when he homered off Colorado closer Greg Holland on his first big league swing.

“I know that I can consistently hit for power, whether it’s doubles or homers,” DeJong said.

A 2015 graduate of Illinois State who majored in biochemistry and pre-medicine, he was selected by the Cardinals in the fourth round of that year’s amateur draft. During spring training last month, when the Cardinals gave him the big contract, he attended several social events of the Palm Beach Symphony — not a regular nightlife stop of most big leaguers.

“I like all types of music, from Metallica to Chopin,” he said.

His younger brother Matthew is in a master’s program for piano at Florida State.

“He was always more devoted to music than I was,” DeJong said. “I played the piano, as well. Also the trumpet. But I stopped sophomore year in high school for the trumpet and a little earlier than that for the piano.”

DeJong sent a fastball from Steven Matz off the facing of the left-field second deck in the second inning and drove Jacob Rhame’s slider off an orange M&M advertisement just over the left-field wall in the eighth for his second solo homer.

“He’s dangerous,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “I won’t put a ceiling on him.”

DeJong was 9 for 12 in a series against the Mets just before last year’s All-Star break and is 15 for 41 versus New York with five doubles, six homers and eight RBI overall. He is 3 for 3 with a pair of homers against Matz.

“I had two strikes on him and I left the ball right over the plate,” the lefty said.

Luke Weaver (1-0), a rare starting pitcher with a single-digit uniform number (7), struggled through a 27-pitch first inning in his first outing and gave up Amed Rosario’s tying single in the second. The 24-year-old right-hander, who last summer became the first Cardinals rookie to win seven straight starts since Ted Wilks in 1944, wound up allowing five hits in five innings, four of them singles.

“A grind is like the perfect definition of what it was,” Weaver said.

Marcell Ozuna broke out of an 0-for-9 start with three hits, including an RBI double in the third and a run-scoring single in the fifth.Yadier Molina hit a leadoff homer in the fourth for the Cardinals, outscored 15-6 in the first two games.

After solid starts by Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom, Matz (0-1) tried to put behind an injury-decimated sophomore season in which the lefty slumped to a 2-7 record. He struggled with his control and was up to 51 pitches after two innings and 73 after three. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs and four hits, as the Mets kept up their terrible trend of last year, when they were 16-36 in series finales.

“All three runs I gave up I had two strikes on the guys,” Matz said. “I was leaving the ball up a lot.”

In the Cardinals clubhouse after the game, there was loud, thumping music. DeJong hasn’t grooved to classical music yet for batting practice.

“I’ve thought about it. I just haven’t pulled the trigger. I don’t bring my headphones with me, usually,” he said. “I don’t like to get too far in my head with music. Sometimes that can happen.”

SLUMPING START

Cardinals leadoff hitter Dexter Fowler was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts before walking in the eighth inning and has started the season 0 for 13 with six Ks.

TRADING PLACES

St. Louis obtained OF Johan Mieses from the Los Angeles Dodgers for INF Breyvic Valera, who had been designated for assignment.

HONORING RUSTY

New York will wear a patch on the right sleeves of its jerseys for the rest of the season in honor of former Mets star Rusty Staub, who died Thursday. Sunday would have been his 74th birthday.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Mets: CF Brandon Nimmo was scratched after being up most of the night with flu-like symptoms. … RHP Anthony Swarzak was to be evaluated after leaving Saturday’s game with a sore left oblique. … LHP Jason Vargas (broken right hand) threw a bullpen Saturday and is to throw a simulated game Monday.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Miles Mikolas makes his first big league appearance since Aug. 25, 2014, when he starts Monday at Milwaukee. He spent the past three seasons with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan’s Central League.

Mets: RHP Matt Harvey, coming off a 5-7 season, makes his 2018 debut Monday against visiting Philadelphia and Ben Lively.

— Associated Press —

NEW YORK (AP) — Mickey Callaway’s first game as a manager with the Mets went exactly according to plan.

Yoenis Cespedes drove in three runs and newcomer Adrian Gonzalez hit a go-ahead double to lead Noah Syndergaard and New York past the St. Louis Cardinals 9-4 in their opener Thursday.

Syndergaard (1-0) struck out 10 and walked none in six innings after missing most of last season with a torn lat muscle.

Leadoff man Brandon Nimmo, subbing for injured All-Star Michael Conforto, reached safely four times and scored twice as the Mets chased a furious Carlos Martinez in their five-run fifth inning to make Callaway a winner at sold-out Citi Field.

“It feels great,” Callaway said. “What a ballpark. All of us, the coaches, were sitting there going, man, this is something special. This is a different place than most.”

The 35-year-old Gonzalez also was on base four times with two hits and two walks in his New York debut. The five-time All-Star first baseman was signed for the major league minimum during the offseason after struggling with a bad back last year with the Dodgers.

“Obviously, getting off to a good start is huge, both personally and as a team. I think we accomplished both,” he said.

Yadier Molina hit an early two-run homer for St. Louis that clanged off the left-field foul pole . Jose Martinez (3 for 4) also went deep against Syndergaard and knocked in two but committed a run-scoring throwing error at first base.

“I was mad at myself not making that play, for sure. I put Carlos in a tough situation right there,” Jose Martinez said. “I don’t feel very happy with my performance, because that play was huge for us.”

New York got hitless relief from Robert Gsellman, newcomer Anthony Swarzak and closer Jeurys Familia to finish with 15 strikeouts in an opener played only hours after the death of former Mets star Rusty Staub .

“I thought it was a great team win. A lot of fun,” Syndergaard said. “Kind of kicking myself in the butt for allowing that Martinez guy to get a little too comfortable, but that won’t happen again.”

Todd Frazier, also making his Mets debut, drew a one-out walk from Carlos Martinez (0-1) in the fifth and scored from first on Gonzalez’s double into the right-field corner for a 4-3 lead.

Syndergaard, who threw his first three pitches 99 mph , helped himself with a sacrifice bunt, and young shortstop Amed Rosario — batting ninth behind the pitcher — delivered a two-run single .

Cespedes, who had a two-run single in the second, chased Carlos Martinez with an RBI single . The two-time All-Star pitcher, who walked six, really went wild once he got to the bench, knocking over a bucket of bubble gum.

“I didn’t have command,” he said. “In the last game (of) the spring I was comfortable, so I don’t know what happened.”

Jay Bruce, back after the Mets traded him to Cleveland last August, added an RBI single off Matt Bowman to cap the outburst.

“I put our lineup against anyone,” Bruce said. “We have veteran guys. We have young guys with so much talent.”

New York catcher Kevin Plawecki also had two walks and two hits, including a late RBI single.

“Just a great all-around effort today,” Frazier said. “A good kick-start to the season.”

HELP ON THE WAY

Less than two hours before the first pitch, the Cardinals landed a closer. Greg Holland agreed to a $14 million, one-year contract with the team, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement was pending a physical and had not been announced. A three-time All-Star, Holland was a free agent after leading the National League with 41 saves last year for Colorado. His addition would be a major boost to an unsettled Cardinals bullpen lacking a proven closer in the wake of several injuries.

FAST STARTERS

Despite losing their first eight openers in the 1960s, the Mets have baseball’s best record on opening day at 37-20. They’ve won 22 of their last 25 season openers at home. The previous Mets manager to win his debut was Jeff Torborg in 1992.

A ROCK BEHIND THE PLATE

Molina started on opening day at catcher for the 14th straight season, a franchise record for one position.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: The club had planned to use newcomer Luke Gregerson as its closer early this season, but he strained his left hamstring late in spring training and opened on the 10-day disabled list with no timetable for his return.

Mets: General manager Sandy Alderson said the team will decide in a couple of days whether Conforto needs a minor league rehab assignment before coming off the disabled list. Conforto is ahead of schedule in his recovery from surgery for a dislocated left shoulder and is eligible to return late next week, when the Mets are in Washington.

UP NEXT

Cardinals RHP Michael Wacha (12-9, 4.13 ERA) starts the second game of the season Saturday afternoon against RHP Jacob deGrom (15-10, 3.53 ERA), the Mets’ initial choice for opening day before his schedule was slowed at the outset of spring training by a stiff back and the birth of his child.

— Associated Press —