Playoff-bound Brewers rally from 5 runs down to beat skidding Cardinals 9-8 in 10 innings

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Caleb Durbin hit a tying double in the 10th inning, Andruw Monasterio followed with the winning single and the playoff-bound Milwaukee Brewers rallied from five runs down to defeat the skidding St. Louis Cardinals 9-8 on Saturday night.

Milwaukee players took the field aware they were already ensured at least a National League wild card, after the New York Mets lost to Texas a little earlier. But the NL Central leaders hardly let up.

After trailing 6-1 in the sixth, they scratched across five runs in the eighth and ninth to tie it 7-all on RBI infield singles by Jackson Chourio and William Contreras, who drove in three runs.

Abner Uribe (3-2) loaded the bases with none out in the 10th but held St. Louis to one run, which scored when Iván Herrera grounded into a double play.

Durbin delivered an RBI double off Kyle Leahy (4-2) with one out in the bottom half and scored on Monasterio's single to center field, handing the Cardinals their fifth consecutive loss.

Milwaukee improved the majors' best record to 91-58, two games ahead of NL East-leading Philadelphia, and increased its NL Central cushion to 6 1/2 games over the Chicago Cubs, who lost 5-4 to Tampa Bay.

Brewers rookie starter Jacob Misiorowski allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings, including solo homers by Herrera and Brendan Donovan.

Cardinals starter Sonny Gray gave up two runs in five innings and struck out eight.

Riley O’Brien entered in the bottom of the ninth looking for his fourth save of the season but was lifted after allowing the first four batters to reach base.

Milwaukee went 6 for 16 with runners in scoring position.

Cardinals RHP Miles Mikolas (7-10, 4.84 ERA) faces LHP Jose Quintana (11-6, 3.88) in the series finale Sunday.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

St. Louis Cardinals' Iván Herrera is congratulated by Willson Contreras after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' Andruw Monasterio is douced after hitting an RBI walk-off single during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' Andruw Monasterio celebrates after hitting an RBI walk-off single during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' Andruw Monasterio celebrates after hitting an RBI walk-off single during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' Andruw Monasterio hits an RBI walk-off single during the 10th inning of a baseball game =ax-=Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday asked lawmakers to approve reforms to the oil industry that would open the doors to greater foreign investment during her first state of the union speech less than two weeks after its longtime leader was toppled by the United States.

Rodríguez, who has been under pressure by the Trump administration to fall in line with its vision for the oil-rich nation, said sales of Venezuelan oil would go to bolster crisis-stricken health services, economic development and other infrastructure projects.

She outlined a distinct vision for the future, straying from her predecessors, who have long railed against American intervention in Venezeula. “Let us not be afraid of diplomacy” with the U.S., said Rodriguez, the former vice president who must now navigate competing pressures from the Trump administration and a government loyal to former President Nicolás Maduro.

The speech, which was broadcast on a delay in Venezuela, came one day after Rodríguez said her government would continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro in what she described as “a new political moment” since his ouster.

On Thursday, Trump met at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose political party is widely considered to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro. But in endorsing Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018, Trump has sidelined Machado.

Rodríguez, who had a call with Trump earlier this week, said Wednesday evening on state television that her government would use “every dollar” earned from oil sales to overhaul the nation’s public health care system. Hospitals and other health care facilities across the country have long been crumbling, and patients are asked to provide practically all supplies needed for their care, from syringes to surgical screws.

The acting president must walk a tightrope, balancing pressures from both Washington and top Venezuelan officials who hold sway over Venezuela's security forces and strongly oppose the U.S. Her recent public speeches reflect those tensions — vacillating from conciliatory calls for cooperation with the U.S., to defiant rants echoing the anti-imperialist rhetoric of her toppled predecessor.

American authorities have long railed against a government they describe as a “dictatorship,” while Venezuela’s government has built a powerful populist ethos sharply opposed to U.S. meddling in its affairs.

For the foreseeable future, Rodríguez's government has been effectively relieved of having to hold elections. That's because when Venezuela’s high court granted Rodríguez presidential powers on an acting basis, it cited a provision of the constitution that allows the vice president to take over for a renewable period of 90 days.

Trump enlisted Rodríguez to help secure U.S. control over Venezuela’s oil sales despite sanctioning her for human rights violations during his first term. To ensure she does his bidding, Trump threatened Rodríguez earlier this month with a “situation probably worse than Maduro.”

Maduro, who is being held in a Brooklyn jail, has pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking charges.

Before Rodríguez’s speech on Thursday, a group of government supporters was allowed into the presidential palace, where they chanted for Maduro, who the government insists remains the country’s president. “Maduro, resist, the people are rising,” they shouted.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez makes a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez, center, smiles flanked by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, right, and National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez after making a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)