Milwaukee Brewers baserunner Brice Turang is forced out at first by St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery as Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt watches during the fifth inning of Tuesday night’s game in St. Louis. (Jeff Roberson/AP photo)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Nolan Arenado homered for the fifth straight game for the St. Louis Cardinals in a 3-2 loss to Milwaukee on Tuesday night, with Joey Wiemer and Brian Anderson homering for the Brewers.

Milwaukee starter Wade Miley came out with a left lat strain in the second inning after throwing 22 pitches. Miley pitched in just nine games last season when he was with the Chicago Cubs and endured shoulder and elbow injuries.

“I felt a little grab in the back of my arm,” Miley said. “I’ve dealt with some weird things before and I thought I could keep going. I’m going tomorrow to get an MRI and get a clear image of what’s going on. Hopefully, nothing too serious.”

From 2017-22, Miley has endured nine stints on the injured list.

Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Miley will be sent to Milwaukee on Wednesday.

“You’ve got to win games like this and they can come at a cost,” Counsell said. “Any time you beat a division opponent it’s a big win.”

St. Louis starter Jordan Montgomery (2-6) pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits with a walk and seven strikeouts. He is 0-6 in seven starts since winning at Milwaukee on April 8.

Joel Payamps (2-0), the fourth of six pitchers, got the victory with 1 2/3 innings of work.

“The bullpen was really incredible,” Counsell said. “Losing your starter five outs into the game, the job they did and all pitching multiple innings was very impressive. Our jobs did such a good job. They all did a little more than normal. They delivered. That’s awesome.”

St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol noted the switch to a bullpen game by Milwaukee changed things.

“Anytime it’s a bullpen game, it’s a little bit more difficult,” Marmol. “But that’s no excuse. At the end of the day, we got beat.”

Devin Williams pitched the final 1 2/3 innings for his sixth save. It was the longest save of his career.

“When your starter goes out in the second inning you know they’re going to ask you to do a little bit more,” Williams said. “I was ready for the challenge.”

Arenado led off the second with the homer, hitting Miley’s fastball into the left-field seats. Arenado had not homered in five straight games since a career-best six-game streak from Sept. 1-5, 2015.

“When I did it in ’15, it was a little later in the year. Whenever they happen, it’s really awesome so it doesn’t really matter,” Arenado said. “It would have felt better if we’d gotten the win.”

Miley’s been doing a good job this year,” Arenado said. “He’s not easy.”

Arenado has 999 RBIs in 1,424 games and could join Hall of Famers Eddie Mathews and Chipper Jones as the only players since 1920 who were primarily third basemen to hit 300 homers with 1,000 RBIs before 1,500 games.

The Brewers went up 3-2 when Anderson led off the sixth with a homer.

Milwaukee took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI ground-run double by Willy Adames to score Owen Miller.

An RBI single by Brendan Donovan in the fourth gave St. Louis a 2-1.

The Brewers got the run back in the fifth on a one-out solo homer by Wiemer. Milwaukee then loaded the bases on two singles, one on an overturned call at first base, and walk but Montgomery escaped the jam.

BACK AT DH: Willson Contreras was back as the designed hitter for the Cardinals and Andrew Knizner started as the catcher. Contreras returned behind the plate Monday for his first appearance as the catcher since May 5. Contreras, who was signed by the Cardinals as a free agent to an $87.5 million, five-year contract, was used as a designated hitter for 10 days prior to Monday because of defensive concerns.

TRAINER’S ROOM: Cardinals CF Dylan Carlson (left ankle sprain) remained out of the lineup. He has not played since leaving Sunday’s game in Boston in the second inning. He singled to right field and appeared to roll his ankle while running out of the batter’s box. … LHP Packy Naughton (left forearm strain) is scheduled to throw a second bullpen session Thursday. … LF Tyler O’Neill (lower back strain) may be begin a rehab assignment as soon as Thursday.

UP NEXT: Brewers’ Corbin Burnes (4-2, 3,35) has allowed just seven earned runs over his last six starts. He is 3-2 with a 1.82 ERA in nine career games, including six starts, at Busch Stadium

Adam Wainwright (0-0, 7.20) started the season on the injured list and has made just two starts this season for the Cardinals, both of which have come this month. Both times out, he’s allowed four runs across five innings, totaling seven strikeouts and 15 hits.

Wainwright has not earned a win against the Brewers in the month of May since May 26, 2009, when he threw seven innings allowing one run with nine strikeouts at Milwaukee. He does have 21 career wins against the Brewers.