ST. LOUIS -- Less than a year ago, Jeremy Hazelbaker was wondering if his big league dream died after he was released from the Los Angeles Dodgers' Double-A team in Chattanooga, Tenn.

On Monday, Hazelbaker was the guy the media couldn't wait to interview after wowing the second-largest crowd in Busch Stadium III history.

Going 4-for-4 with a triple and double, plus a diving catch in left field, the St. Louis rookie left fielder was the star of the Cardinals' 10-1 rout of the Milwaukee Brewers.

The 28-year old Hazelbaker, who played 751 minor league games over the last seven years before making his first big league roster, is 10-for-19 through his first seven games. He has earned a spot in St. Louis' everyday lineup.

It certainly is a 180-degree turn from last May, when the Dodgers handed him his walking papers.

"I didn't know if I'd get this chance then," Hazelbaker said, surrounded by a coterie of media ringing his locker. "Luckily, the Cardinals picked me up."

Hazelbaker went from organizational soldier to prospect literally in the blink of an eye, hitting .308 at Double-A Springfield and .333 at Triple-A Memphis last year. He kept hitting the ball this spring, and his performance, coupled with a late run of injuries in spring training, punched his ticket north.

Hazelbaker's performance has some wondering if he is legit or the star of a small sample size, but manager Mike Matheny sounded like a believer when asked about him.

"Whatever he's doing, keep on doing it," Matheny said. "I like watching him play."

With a one-out triple in the first inning Monday, Hazelbaker touched off a 19-hit onslaught, a record for a Cardinals home opener. The previous mark was 18 on April 5, 1974, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Matt Holliday doubled him home, and the rout was on against overmatched Milwaukee starter Taylor Jungmann.

It was 3-0 after one inning, courtesy of an RBI double by Randal Grichuk and a run-scoring single by Yadier Molina. It was 5-0 after two as Matt Carpenter lashed an RBI triple and trotted home on Hazelbaker's sacrifice fly.

The game reached the laugher stage before the third inning was over, St. Louis (4-3) scoring four runs and knocking Jungmann out. Molina rifled an RBI double off the left field wall, followed by a sacrifice fly from Kolten Wong, a run-scoring double by Aledmys Diaz and Carpenter's two-out RBI single.

"That's how hitting works," Hazelbaker said. "The more you (hit), the better you feel about yourself. It was definitely a fun day."

Jungmann (0-1) was pounded for eight hits and eight runs in two-plus innings, walking one and whiffing two.

Meanwhile, Cardinals starter Michael Wacha (1-0) cruised through six scoreless innings, giving up just four hits with a walk and seven strikeouts -- six looking. It was a far cry from Wacha's first outing, when he went only 4 1/3 innings and got a no-decision in St. Louis' 6-5, 11-inning loss April 5 in Pittsburgh.

"I was able to locate the fastball down in the zone to both sides of the plate," Wacha said. "I feel like it really opened up the (zone) for me."

After Chris Carter homered off reliever Matt Bowman in the seventh for the Brewers' only run, St. Louis' Matt Adams finished the scoring with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh. That put the Cardinals in double figures for a third consecutive game, the first time that has occurred since 1980.

Molina and Diaz each bagged three hits, with Molina knocking in two runs and adding a rare steal in the first inning. Carpenter collected two hits and two RBIs, while Grichuk reached base four times, drawing a pair of walks to give him five in the last two games.

Eight players drove in runs for the Cardinals as five Milwaukee pitchers tried and mostly failed to mute their hot bats.

"You've got to have a short memory because we play so many games," Carter said. "We've got to put this one behind us and look ahead to (Wednesday) night."

The Cardinals finished the day with eight doubles and two triples, the first time they reached those totals in a game since Sept. 3, 1939, against Pittsburgh.

NOTES: Milwaukee drew 26 walks in its first six games, the most it worked in that span since 2009. ... St. Louis LHP Marco Gonzales hasn't decided yet whether to undergo surgery for his ailing left elbow. A rehab program that doesn't involve surgery is also an option. ... Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said that SS Ruben Tejada (left quad strain) is working out and feeling good at the team's complex in Jupiter, Fla. Tejada will be eligible to come off the disabled list Saturday.