ST. LOUIS - Power pitching often dominates in the postseason. Soft tosses by Randy Wolf got the Brewers back to even in the NL Championship Series.
Wolf, a 35-year-old lefty, outfoxed the Cardinals for seven innings to earn his first postseason win, and the Brewers got two more hits from Ryan Braun in a 4-2 victory Thursday night that tied the series at two games apiece.
"It was a big feeling just to be back out there again after my last start," said Wolf, hit hard by Arizona to force a deciding Game 5 in the first round of the playoffs. "Just to be able to get another opportunity to pitch again was important.
"You know, I'll be honest with you, the day after the Diamondbacks start, I didn't eat or shower that day," he said.
Flipping some pitches in the mid-60s mph, Wolf allowed two runs and six hits, striking out six with one walk.
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Matt Holliday and Allen Craig homered for the Cardinals, representing their only runs in the last 16 innings.
"I think it's classic because playing each other so many times, we're dead even," manager Tony La Russa said.
Francisco Rodriguez allowed a hit in the eighth, and John Axford finished for his second save of the series and third this postseason.
The Brewers ended an eight-game road losing streak in the postseason dating to the 1982 World Series opener at St. Louis. And Wolf ended a lengthy drought of his own: Before Thursday, his 342 starts without a postseason victory were the most among active pitchers.
Game 4 loser Kyle Lohse moves to second on the list at 298 starts, trailing only Ted Lilly's 318.
Jaime Garcia faces Zack Greinke for the second time in the series in Game 5 Friday night. Either way, the NLCS will be decided back at Miller Park.
"We're pretty much the only team that's played pretty well in Milwaukee," Cardinals star Albert Pujols said. "Flip the page and hopefully come back tomorrow. It's a great series. Nobody is going to run away," Cardinals star Albert Pujols said.
Jerry Hairston Jr. doubled twice with an RBI, and Wolf hit one of the Brewers' five doubles. Braun is batting .471 (16 for 34) in the postseason with two homers and nine RBIs.
The Cardinals needed more heavy duty from their bullpen, too, after Lohse, pitching on 12 days' rest, failed to make it out of the fifth.
"I'm not going to blame it on the layoff," Lohse said. "We're professionals, and we've got to get the job done. Tonight, we didn't do it."
Pujols was a quiet 1 for 4 for St. Louis, which was 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and is 0 for 15 after the first inning of Game 3.
"They have good pitching, but we have good pitching, too," Hairston said. "They've been good for us all year long."
Wolf kept the Cardinals off-balance with soft tosses and retired 13 of his last 15 batters in his fourth career postseason start.
It was a huge improvement from Game 4 of the NL Division Series at Arizona in which he allowed seven runs in three innings.
National league playoffs glance
Championship series (best of seven, games on TBS)
• Game 1: Milwaukee 9, St. Louis 6
• Game 2: St. Louis 12, Milwaukee 3
• Game 3: St. Louis 4, Milwaukee 3
• Game 4: Milwaukee 4, St. Louis 2; series tied 2-2
• Today: Milwaukee (Greinke 16-6) at St. Louis (Garcia 13-7), 5:05 p.m.
• Sunday: St. Louis at Milwaukee, 1:05 p.m. or 5:05 p.m.
• x-Monday: St. Louis at Milwaukee, 5:05 p.m.
x- if necessary
