Kyle McClellan continued his successful conversion to the starting rotation with eight strong innings and the St. Louis Cardinals recorded a 3-1 home win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday at Busch Stadium.

Colby Rasmus gave the Cardinals the lead with a two-run double in the fifth inning and Nick Punto tacked on a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

That was plenty of offense for McClellan (5-0), who retired 13 straight before Prince Fielder's leadoff single in the ninth. He allowed one run on four hits, walked three and struck out three.

The Cardinals improved to 7-0 when McClellan starts a game this season.

Craig Counsell's infield single drove in the Brewers' lone run in the ninth, but Fernando Salas struck out Rickie Weeks with the bases loaded for his third save.

The Brewers were shut out for the fourth time in nine games and the second time in the series. Jaime Garcia threw a two-hit shutout for the Cardinals in Friday's opener.

Brewers starter Chris Narveson (1-3) allowed three runs — two earned — on seven hits over six innings for the loss.

Cardinals second baseman Tyler Greene was 3-for-3, and Matt Holliday went 2-for-4 to raise his average to .398, the best in the majors.

St. Louis took two of the three in the series and has won eight of 12. Milwaukee has lost eight of nine.