ST. LOUIS -- Kyle Lohse was the St. Louis Cardinals ace last season. Maybe they know too much about him. David Freese had an RBI in a four-run fourth inning to go with big plays at third base, and the Cardinals beat their former teammate for the third straight time with a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday. "Baseball is a stupid game," said Lohse, who was 16-3 for the Cardinals last season. "Baseball is weird, man. You make some good pitches and they get some good hits." Of course, they have a pretty good idea whats coming from Lohse, who was with St. Louis from 2008-12. "Yeah, well, he was with the Cardinals, if you remember," said Pete Kozma, who contributed an RBI squeeze bunt to the rally. "We kind of know what he has, kind of know his tendencies a little bit, what his ball does." John Gast (2-0) won his second straight start in place of the injured Jake Westbrook and fellow rookie Seth Maness escaped a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the seventh to help the Cardinals win for the 14th time in 17 games. They took two of three from Milwaukee and lead the season series 8-2. Theyre down two starting pitchers, with Jaime Garcia also on the 15-day disabled list with a left shoulder strain, but havent let it slow them down. "Weve got to pick it up but with the talent we have, it doesnt demand much," Freese said. "The guys we have in Double-A and Triple-A, theyre waiting and theyre hungry and theyre expected to do well." Edward Mujica earned his 13th save in 13 chances after a third rookie, Trevor Rosenthal, gave up a hit in the eighth. Lohse (1-5) left in free agency when the Cardinals opted to go with younger players such as Shelby Miller and save salary. He gave up four runs in six innings, and is 0-4 overall in his last five starts. Yuniesky Betancourt and Jeff Bianchi each drove in a run and Norichika Aoki had three hits and a walk for the Brewers, who have lost 14 of 17. They didnt have much to show for 10 hits and wrapped up a 2-8 trip. "There were a lot of story lines out of our road trip," said Ryan Braun, who grounded into a double play with the bases loaded to end the seventh. "And none of them good." After getting one hit the first time through the order, the Cardinals jumped on Lohse for six hits in the first seven at-bats in the fourth. Yadier Molina singled for the lead and Jon Jay followed with an RBI double, both coming on first pitches. Freeses opposite-field single through a drawn-in infield was his fifth RBI of the series after totalling four prior to the weekend, and Kozma capped the rally with a perfectly-placed squeeze bunt that Lohse couldnt touch with a diving barehanded attempt. Gast has opened with five scoreless innings in each of his first two career starts, and has allowed a total of six runs in the sixth. "I made a few mistakes in the sixth," Gast said. "Its something to keep an eye on, but I dont think two starts is a big enough sample size to make any conclusions." Maness took over with one out and runners at the corners, and the Brewers got two-out RBIs from Betancourt and Bianchi to cut the deficit to 4-2. Maness finished with a unique pitching line, allowing no runs on five hits in 1 2-3 innings. According to baseballreference.com, hes the ninth pitcher since 1916 to give up five hits and get five outs without allowing a run, and the first since Eric Gunderson of Seattle in 2000. "Im a ground-ball pitcher and that happens sometimes," Maness said. "Its never fun but youve just got to focus and know youre another ground ball away from trying to get out of it." The Brewers opened the seventh with three straight hits and had two of their best hitters due up. Jean Segura, who entered with an NL-leading .361 average, popped up to first and Braun grounded into a double play on a full count on a play started by Freese. Aoki was barely run down at the plate by Freese to foil a double-steal attempt and end the first. The Brewers attempted to manufacture a run with Betancourt down 1-2 in the count while mired in a 3 for 40 slump. Freese faked a few tosses to the plate before flicking his glove to catch Aoki beginning his dive. Freese cut his right thumb on Aokis spikes at the end of the play and got a few stitches after the game, but didnt think it would keep him down. "Ive had plenty of stitches over my days, so well be all right," Freese said. "Its a cut. Toughen up a few minutes here, a few minutes there." NOTES: Aoki is 16 for 30 (.533) his last seven games with four three-hit games and is batting .410 (16 for 39) against the Cardinals. ... Jay has 15 RBIs his last 15 games. ...The Cardinals are 14-7 on the road heading into an eight game trip. Miller (5-2, 1.40) is tied for the major league lead in ERA heading into Mondays start against Jason Marquis (5-2, 3.49) at San Diego. ... The Brewers begin an eight-game home stand Monday with Yovani Gallardo (3-3, 4.50) facing the Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (4-2, 1.40). ... Professional wrestler Chris Jericho, in town for an "extreme rules" event Sunday night, threw the ceremonial first pitch. ... Milwaukees Rickie Weeks struck out twice for a four-game total of eight and is batting .170.Greg Vaughn Brewers Jersey . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. Rob Deer Brewers Jersey . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. https://www.cheapbrewers.com/149y-jacob-nottingham-jersey-brewers.html . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. Rob Deer Jersey . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. Jimmy Nelson Brewers Jersey . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer.While the big league NASCAR world travels south to Homestead, Florida, from Charlotte to crown a national champion, the stock car short trackers are migrating east. From all corners of the grassroots racing world, trailers and tow trucks pulling late-model race cars are headed to Myrtle Beach Speedway for the annual Myrtle Beach 400 in South Carolina. Its an event that signifies the end of the season for many of NASCARs home track racers.Among those pilgrims will be the racer with the Kid N Play fade and his friend with the partially shaved head. Their trip to Myrtle Beach started more than a year ago, a road thats carried them around bullring racetracks, through cancer wards and, they hope, ultimately into Victory Lane.Im so excited about this weekend I cant hardly stand it, Erika Newcome said Tuesday evening.The 21-year-old had just walked out of class at Akron University in Ohio, where shes a fourth-year public relations major. She was heading home to pack, load her car, and make the seven-hour drive to Mooresville, North Carolina, There shed meet up with her friend to carry on toward Myrtle Beach.I cant believe everything that Dylan has done for me since we first met, she said. And I cant wait to get back to a racetrack with him.Dylan is Dylan Smith, aka Black Mamba, the 24-year-old racer who most recently created a social media buzz among NASCAR fans by winning the highly coveted Best Costume honors at Tony Stewarts annual Halloween party.He was dressed as Halle Barrys Catwoman.I told yall I wasnt messing around this year, and that trophy looks oh so good on my mantel. @halleberry ???? #HappyHalloween pic.twitter.com/OEuGiddQrP- Black Mamba (@DylanSmith34) October 27, 2016Erika and Dylan met on Oct. 21, 2015 -- at a racetrack, naturally.Newcome was a late-model racer from Columbus, Ohio, the daughter of a short tracker who, inspired by her trips to Columbus Motor Speedway, started driving her own racing machines at the age of 8. By 2015 she was voted that speedways Most Popular Driver.Smith was a resident of Concord, North Carolina, by way of Randolph, Vermont, where he landed after being adopted out of his native Haiti. He too loved his local racetrack, Thunder Road SpeedBowl in Barre, Vermont, and convinced his adopted father to buy him a go-kart at the age of 4.After wins at tracks scattered all over the American map, Newcome and Smith met in a hotel lobby in southeastern Virginia. Both were there as invited participants in NASCARs Drive For Diversity Combine, an annual talent-scouting event held at the legendary Langley Speedway, a four-tenths mile oval strikingly similar to Newcomes Columbus track.It was the night before we went to the track and there were 23 of us there. A lot of them had been to the combine before. I hadnt and I was really nervous, Newcome recalls. Dylan had done it before and he noticed I was being kind of quiet, and he immediately started talking to me. I was so relieved.At that combine orientation meeting, she was equally relieved to see that the nameplates for the assigned seats in the classroom had her sitting next to Smith. What she didnt know at the time was that hed switched those plates around to ensure that theyd be paired up.We just hit it off immediately, Smith says. I think what we know now is that our instant friendship wasnt just a coincidence.Racers are driven people by nature, but their business is one built on rejection; no is a constant answer, whether from a potential sponsor, a car owner, a would-be car owner or even a loan officer. The Drive For Diversity program is designed to help young racers step out of the shadows, but what happens past that initial push is up to the individual.Smith finished out 2015 but had trouble landing a ride for 16. Hes taken jobs working with other teams, doing everything from building race cars for other drivers to using his significant social media skills to help those teams with their PR efforts.Newcome went back to Ohio and resumed racing, but she couldnt shake a nagging pain in her shoulders. In August 2015 she had crashed into a wall at Columbus, dislocating her right shoulder and tearing her labrum. It seemed odd, though, because the wreck wasnt that hard. In fact, shed kept running and finished the race. And why was her left shoulder hurting, too? The next spring, during a visit to her orthopedist, she wwas about to leave but asked one last question about an odd-looking blood vessel in her neck.dddddddddddd He sent her to have it checked out via ultrasound. On May 18, it was identified as a blood clot, odd for a just-turned 21-year-old.On June 2, 2016, Newcome was told that she had masses in almost every organ of her body. She was suffering from Stage 4 sarcoma, a cancer that aggressively attacks the bodys soft tissues.Now that were looking back on it, what sarcoma damages are things like your muscles, Newcome explains. So thats why my labrum tore so easily. I had been weakened and didnt know.She immediately began treatments that have continued to this day: chemotherapy, an immunotherapy drip and blood thinners to battle the clot. Shes doing it all while also being a full-time college student. When the chemo started thinning her hair on one side, she shaved only that side, leaving longer blonde locks on the other. But its the blood thinners that dont allow her to race, as thinned, freer-flowing blood makes racing too risky. For a moment last month it appeared as through that might no longer be an issue, but the clot returned and so did the thinner.Being in school gives me normalcy, she says. I really feel pretty normal. But cancer is all anyone can talk about. Its all anyone can see when they look at me. Thats hard. But Ive come to peace with it. Still, thats what makes encouraging talks and phone calls and texts so important. At my low points, I always hear from Dylan and he always knows just what to say. He always says we because were in this together.Really excited for this weekend, @dylonwilson really hooked it up with the @AmericanCancer & @WendellScott_34! #FearTheFade #CancerSucks pic.twitter.com/XAC508wmEO- Black Mamba (@DylanSmith34) November 16, 2016Last month Smiths call was even more enthusiastic than normal. Hed been kicking around an idea for a while and it was starting to come together. While Dylan had been encouraging Erika during her treatment, shed been returning the favor, pumping him up during a summer when he hadnt turned a single competitive lap on the racetrack.I havent raced all year and its driven me crazy, Smith said earlier this week, en route to work. So I thought, if Im going to race only once this season, then Im going to make it count.He secured a late-model car he could race from one of his employers, racer Travis Millers father Matt and team co-owner Chris Florian. Then he went looking for support. He used LinkedIn to track down the national marketing director of the American Cancer Society, who just so happened to be looking for ways to reach out to blue-collar cancer victims about services such as its transportation-to-appointments program.Smith also reached out to the Wendell Scott Foundation, run by the family of the late NASCAR Hall of Famer. Wendell Scott, the only African-American to win a NASCAR Cup Series event, is Smiths hero and the family has become one of his biggest supporters. Scott died in 1990, killed by cancer.Smith set up a GoFundMe page titled Beating Cancer 1 Lap At A Time, promising donors that any money raised and all winnings from the Myrtle Beach 400 would be split between the American Cancer Society and an account to help pay Newcomes mounting medical bills.I couldnt believe it when he told me what he was doing, she said Tuesday night. But thats Dylan. Thats the kind of person he is. Hes so unselfish and hes so positive. I knew I had to go with him this weekend. Just being back at a racetrack again, theres no more positive atmosphere than the racetrack. And working with the American Cancer Society to let people know about sarcoma. This is all the best medicine I could possibly think of.On Thursday, the dude with the fade and the girl with the half-shaved head traveled east toward Myrtle Beach on a mission. In the front seat were two reunited friends. Behind them was a towed late-model race car, painted baby blue with a big white 34 on the side. Its modeled after the rides of Wendell Scott. The duo racing it will do so fueled by one of Scotts favorite sayings.Wendell always said, When it gets too tough for everyone else, its just right for me, Smith explained. That sounds like my friend Erika right there. ' ' '