The 2012 St. Louis Cardinals paid appropriate tribute to their 1982 counterparts this weekend, sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers with last night’s 3-0 shutout.

It was enough to make you want to sing in true ’80s Kool and the Gang style.

Maybe it was the “victory blue” uniforms that did it, or maybe it’s just that the team is playing extremely well lately. The win was the Cardinals 12th in their last 16 games, and their ninth out of 10 games at Busch Stadium since the All Star break. Plus the Cards are now 59-49, a season-high 10 games over .500.

Oh, and the Reds finally lost a game! The Cardinals gained a game in the NL Central!

Celebrate good times, indeed.

Kyle Lohse once more did what Kyle Lohse does so well: pitched effectively. He went six innings, allowing just four hits and striking out six. He did walk three, with two coming in the fourth inning — the only one where he had trouble, as the Brewers loaded the bases without a hit thanks also to a David Freese error. But he obviously escaped without incident, even with throwing 33 pitches, and then only needed six pitches to retire the Brewers top three batters in the fifth.

K-Lo now is 12-2 on the season, won his sixth straight decision and now has an ERA of 2.79. Here’s more on his season:

Lohse has recorded quality starts in 11 of his last 12 games. He has emerged as the ERA leader on a talented staff that includes Adam Wainwright, Jake Westbrook and All-Star Lance Lynn.

At times, Lohse’s efforts have gone unnoticed, but he doesn’t mind flying under the radar. He is not big on publicity.

”I don’t play this game for that stuff,” he said. ”I like the fact that my teammates and my manager appreciate what I am doing.”

I appreciate what you’re doing too, Kyle! There’s never anything to worry about watching you pitch.

And there hasn’t been anything to worry about when watching the bullpen lately either. Edward Mujica relieved K-Lo in the seventh and kept his Cardinals outings perfect. He’s now pitched three scoreless innings, allowing just two hits (one last night). Can’t ask for much more than that.

And speaking of scoreless innings, Mitchell Boggs’ streak continues — he’s now up to 23 straight scoreless appearances after his successful eighth inning last night. He allowed one hit and is proving to be BAMF-worthy.

Jason Motte pitched the ninth, of course, and earned his 24th save.

Of course, it wasn’t all about pitching last night — those three runs had to score somehow. And Daniel Descalso was a big reason for that. He had three hits, plus drove in the first run of the game. He also scored on an Allen Craig double in the seventh. David Freese had an RBI-single to score Carlos Beltran in the eighth.

All in all, a perfect weekend and fitting tribute to the ’82 Cardinals. And I can’t be the only one wondering just what kind of celebration will happen during the 2041 season …

Now the San Francisco Giants are here to start a four-game series. They have an identical record to the Cards, but are currently a half-game up on the Dodgers for first place in the NL West. It will be a bigger test for the Cards, starting tonight with Matt Cain and Jake Westbrook facing off at 7:15 p.m. Central Time.


Christine Coleman is the senior St. Louis Cardinals reporter for Aaron Miles’ Fastball. Follow her on Twitter, @CColeman802, or email aaronmilesfastball@gmail.com. Also follow @AMilesFastball for the latest updates.