St. Louis, MO -- (Sports Network) - Ryan Braun and Bill Hall each clubbed two-run homers, and Ben Sheets tossed six solid innings, as the Milwaukee Brewers pounded the St. Louis Cardinals, 12-0, in the opener of a quick two-game set at Busch Stadium with huge playoff implications.

Prince Fielder finished 3-for-6 with two RBI and a run scored for Milwaukee, which has reeled off five straight wins. Jason Kendall also drove in three runs in the victory.

Milwaukee, though, still trails the front-running Cubs by five games in the NL Central.

Sheets (12-7), who matched his career-high for wins in a season, scattered five hits, walked two and struck out four. The right-hander had struggled of late, going 2-6 over his last 10 starts coming into play.

Aaron Miles had two hits for the Cardinals, who have dropped a franchise-high seven straight to Milwaukee and find themselves 4 1/2 games behind the Brewers in the wild card.

Todd Wellemeyer (11-5) gave up five runs -- four earned -- on eight hits in six-plus innings to take the loss. He had been unbeaten in his last eight trips to the mound, posting a 4-0 record.

The Brewers posted a run in the opening frame on singles by Ray Durham, Braun and Fielder, and tacked on another run in the third when J.J. Hardy led off with a triple and later scored on a Fielder groundout.

Sheets worked out of tough situations in the third and fourth innings to preserve the 2-0 lead. Skip Schumaker had a one-out triple in the third and Ryan Ludwick drew a walk, but the right-hander retired the next two batters to emerge unscathed. In the next frame, Yadier Molina singled with one out, advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a Miles base hit. Sheets, though, settled down and fanned Wellemeyer and got Adam Kennedy to fly out to end the threat.

Durham drew a lead off walk in the fifth, stole second and later scored on Albert Pujols' throwing error. Milwaukee then extended its lead further in the seventh. Hardy led off with a single and Braun hammered a 3-2 offering from Wellemeyer over the left-field wall for a 5-0 Brewers advantage.

Milwaukee put the game out of reach with seven runs in the ninth. Braun and Fielder singled before Corey Hart ripped an RBI double. After Mike Cameron singled in a run, Brad Thompson was lifted for Jaime Garcia, who issued a walk to Craig Counsell to load the bases for Kendall, who cleared the bases with a double. One out later, pinch-hitter Hall capped the assault with a blast over the wall in center.

Game Notes

Wellemeyer lost for the first time since July 6 against the Cubs...Hardy extended his hitting streak to 11 games...Milwaukee left 10 men on base, while the Cardinals stranded eight...Durham left in the seventh inning with a right shoulder strain. He is listed as day-to-day...Sheets won 12 games in 2004 and 2007...Before the game, St. Louis placed outfielder Brian Barton on the 15-day disabled list and recalled outfielder Nick Stavinoha from Triple-A Memphis.