When a team has big hitters throughout the lineup, it’s only a matter of time before they break things open.

Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit a go-ahead two-run blast in the top of the 11th inning on Tuesday night. Four batters later, left fielder Tyler O'Neill followed up with a three-run blast of his own. St. Louis recorded more hits in that one inning than it had in the first 10 in the series opener, but on a night when runs were hard to come by, the Cards put five together in a hurry to pull out a 6-1 extra-innings win at American Family Field.

Goldschmidt has traditionally excelled at the plate in Milwaukee. He came into the game with 13 home runs in 38 road games against the Brewers, and his 1.202 OPS was the highest all-time among hitters with at least 100 plate appearances in this ballpark. But Goldschmidt -- like every Cardinals hitter on Tuesday -- was stifled by right-hander Freddy Peralta, who gave up just one hit and one walk in seven scoreless innings.

“Honestly, it wasn't looking so hot there in regulation until the last swing,” Goldschmidt said. “I just was fortunate to be able to get the job done there. Great job by our team, but [those] first few at-bats weren't great.”

Though Goldschmidt eventually came through in extras, if not for the aggressive baserunning of center fielder Harrison Bader in the top of the eighth, Goldschmidt probably wouldn’t have had the chance to play the hero.

The Cardinals had Bader and pinch-runner Lane Thomas on first and second with none out. At that point, St. Louis had just two hits, including Bader’s sharp single to left to lead off the eighth inning. With Brewers reliever Devin Williams on the mound, a 1-0 deficit and a meeting with closer Josh Hader looming in the ninth, Bader couldn’t afford to wait for the hits to arrive.

Tommy Edman drove one to Lorenzo Cain in center field, and despite the ball not being hit all that deep, Bader and Thomas both tagged up to put runners at second and third. In the next at-bat, Dylan Carlson hit a fly ball to left, and Bader tagged once again before sliding in ahead of Brewers left fielder Tyrone Taylor’s throw home to tie the game at 1.

“I mean, that's just knowing your outfielders, knowing your opposition,” Bader said. “Reading the flight of the ball, obviously in that situation [with] no outs, I'm trying to get the third as soon as possible. … You've always got to be on the aggressive side. [If] [Cain is] gonna get me out, it's gonna have to be a perfect throw, so I’ll take my chances there.”

“We can work on it, but [the] player is out there in real time being able to slow the game down, check the outfield, be aware of the situation, and then react and trust what he sees and trust his prep,” manager Mike Shildt added. “Very nice job by Harrison.”

Fresh off a run of 17 games in 17 days that saw the Cardinals go 13-4 and move firmly into first place in the National League Central, St. Louis looked more like a team stuck in the middle of that stretch instead of a team that just had its first off-day in almost three weeks. The Cards’ sluggish offense early wasted a strong start from Kwang Hyun Kim, who gave up just one run over 5 1/3 innings. Kim was able to work around three hits and a walk through the first five innings, but doubles from Cain and Travis Shaw put the Brewers ahead in the sixth.

Though the offensive eruption came a few innings too late to put Kim in line for a win, he remained undefeated (1-0) in his second Major League season, while the Cardinals are a perfect 5-0 in Kim’s starts. The win also kept St. Louis tied atop the NL standings with the Giants, with both teams sporting 22-14 records.