Milwaukee Brewers starter Brett Anderson pitches during the first inning against the Cardinals on Sunday in St. Louis. (AP photo)

Up next: Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee Brewers, 7:40 p.m. EDT today; TV: FS1 (subject to blackout)

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ST. LOUIS — Avisail Garcia homered for the second day in a row, Travis Shaw and Manny Pina also connected and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-3 on Sunday.

Garcia, who homered and drove in five runs in a 9-5 win Saturday, and Shaw hit early drives that helped the Brewers build a 7-0 lead in the second inning.

“Any time you score that many in the top of the first, it kind of settles everybody into the game,” Shaw said. “We poured some more on in the second. The pitching held on, so it was a good day.”

Brett Anderson (1-1) tossed five effective innings for Milwaukee, which has won four of five.

Austin Dean had a two-run double for the Cardinals, who have lost two in a row after a four-game winning streak.

The Brewers scored four times in the first off Daniel Ponce de Leon (1-1) in batting around for the first time this season. Lorenzo Cain began the game with a first-pitch double, Daniel Vogelbach followed with an RBI single and Garcia homered.

The outburst helped Anderson relax on the mound. He drew a bases-loaded walk in the opening frame to give him an RBI before he ever took the mound.

“You don’t anticipate that, but it’s a good problem to have,” Anderson said. “It was good to see the offense clicking on all cylinders. A little tough to get into a rhythm. not the greatest outing by any stretch. But I was able to grind through five.”

Garcia hit homers in back-to-back games for the first time since May 2019 when he was with Tampa Bay.

Shaw hit a three-run homer off Ponce de Leon in the second. Shaw left the game as a precautionary measure after fouling a ball off his shin while batting in the fourth.

“It’s a little sore, but should be good to go tomorrow,” Shaw said. “Overall, not terrible.”

Shaw went 5 for 10 in the series with four RBIs.

The Brewers have won two out of three games against NL Central rivals Chicago and St. Louis. Their starting pitching shined in both series.