ST. LOUIS (AP) _ Jeromy Burnitz hit his third home run of the season and Jason Bere struck out eight in six innings to lead the Milwaukee Brewers over the St. Louis Cardinals 9-1 Friday night.

Bere (1-0) allowed five hits and two walks, sending the Cardinals their first loss in four games. St. Louis had scored 30 runs in its winning streak.

Since losing to Arizona on Sept. 19, 1998, Bere has won eight straight decisions and is unbeaten in 17 starts.

Bere, 5-0 last year, twice struck out Ray Lankford and Mark McGwire, including the first inning with a runner at second. Lankford, who fanned three times, is 3-for-17 since being moved to the No. 3 slot.

Andy Benes (0-1), in his first game back with St. Louis following two seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, allowed two runs and six hits in five innings.

Ron Belliard hit a run-scoring, double-play grounder in the second and Burnitz made it 2-0 in the fourth with a 439-foot home run. St. Louis got a run in the fifth when Bere balked with Fernando Vina at third following a single and a wild pitch.

Milwaukee added four runs in the eighth after third baseman Fernando Tatis threw wildly for an error on Mark Loretta's grounder. After Jesse Orosco's intentional walk to Burnitz, Dave Veres loaded the bases by hitting Kevin Barker with a pitch.

Ron Belliard hit a two-run, two-out single, and Henry Blanco and Lyle Mouton followed with RBI singles for a 5-1 lead.

Charlie Hayes hit a three-run homer in the ninth off David Wainhouse.

Notes: The Cardinals committed two errors, their first of the season. ... Mike Matheny, who hit .194 in spring training, is batting .462 (6-for-13). Matheny threw out two runners attempting to steal ... The Cardinals have scored 13 runs with two outs in their first four games. ... McGwire has walked five times in his first two games. ... Lankford, who struck out 110 times in 122 games last year, has seven strikeouts in four games this season.