ST. LOUIS -- The Brewers have kept their heads above water with bunts and baserunning and run prevention, but it helps to be able to win a ballgame with a three-run homer.
That’s where Milwaukee hopes power-hitting first baseman Andrew Vaughn comes in.
Playing in his second game back from hand surgery, Vaughn’s first home run of 2026 was a three-run shot in a four-run first inning that sent Milwaukee to a 6-2 win over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Wednesday.
“It had been a while,” said Vaughn. “That felt good.”
Five Brewers pitchers combined to hold the Cardinals to four hits after Jake Bauers’ RBI single and Vaughn’s Statcast-projected 403-foot homer into the visitors' bullpen spotted them an early lead. It was a look at some of what Milwaukee was missing with outfielder Jackson Chourio landing on the injured list the morning of Opening Day with a fractured bone at the base of his left middle finger, and Vaughn hitting the IL two days later with a fractured hamate bone in his left hand.
Both of those key hitters returned to the Brewers’ lineup for Monday’s series opener in St. Louis and have made a quick impact.
In just two games, Chourio already has reached safely seven times including six hits – five of them with exit velocities north of 102 mph, according to Statcast, after Wednesday's 108.7 mph RBI double in the ninth inning. His six hits across his first two games of a season are second-most in franchise history behind Cecil Cooper’s seven hits in his first two games of 1982.
And Vaughn provided some pop of his own with his home run off Cardinals starter Andre Pallante, the Brewers’ fourth consecutive two-out hit. It was their 24th homer of the season. Only the Giants have hit fewer.
“He’s done those types of things for us in the past, and it’s great to have him back and in just his second game having that type of impact,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “He’s a good at-bat. He’s a Major League, experienced player. He’s been through the ups and downs. He’s a great fit for us.”
Vaughn credited the Brewers’ training staff for helping him build back strength, which is typically the biggest hurdle for a hitter coming back from hamate surgery. He was 2-for-11 with a double in three games during a rehab assignment for Triple-A Nashville and then went 0-for-4 in his return to the Brewers lineup on Monday night.
“That’s the biggest thing coming back from that surgery, is getting your strength back,” Vaughn said. “It’s just trusting that and going out and playing your game.”
The same goes for Chourio, who is off to a blistering start reminiscent of his return from a monthling stint on the IL for a hamstring injury last season. In his first two games back, he went 6-for-9 with two doubles and a homer.
“Whatever Chourio’s doing, whatever rehab plan he did,” Murphy said, “that was really effective.”
“I mean, he’s just a natural born hitter,” Vaughn said. “He does some amazing things in the box. It’s one of the sweetest right-handed swings I’ve ever seen. He’s out there and he’s confident right now.”
The early cushion came in support of starter Brandon Sproat, who didn’t get to complete a second turn through the Cardinals’ order, but pitched well enough to allow only one hit -- an Ivan Herrera bouncer that got by third baseman David Hamilton and was ruled a double.
It stood as the Cardinals’ only hit into the eighth, as Sproat’s four scoreless innings were followed by one from DL Hall and two more from Aaron Ashby, who picked up his sixth win of the season in relief to tie Braves ace Chris Sale for the Major League lead. That’s not a pairing anyone would have predicted atop MLB at the start of the season.
“Sometimes, pitching with a 4-0 lead is harder than pitching down one,” Murphy said. “[Sproat] made some big pitches in some big times and had way too many three-ball counts. … I think he’s learning stuff. He’s learning, ‘I can do it. I’m good enough. I don’t have to be sharp.”
Thankfully, the Brewers had given him a cushion.
“That was a big first inning from the boys there,” Sproat said. “They came out swinging. It’s awesome to have those guys back.”