ST. LOUIS (AP) The first inning had been the Milwaukee Brewers' strongest suit all season. This time, the St. Louis Cardinals turned the tables and put them in a hole just large enough that six RBIs from Aramis Ramirez left them short.

Ramirez hit a pair of three run homers, but the Cardinals never trailed after David Freese hit a grand slam in a five-run first inning of a 7-6 victory on Friday night. Entering the three-game series, the Brewers had outscored opponents 35-9 in the first inning, the most runs in the majors and fewest allowed.

"I thought we battled well, I liked the at-bats," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "We keep playing like this, we'll start getting some breaks and we'll be OK."