The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Jim Field.

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MILWAUKEE (AP) — Pitcher Miles Mikolas hit a home run and got the win in his return from a three-year stint in Japan, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat Milwaukee 8-4 on Monday to spoil the Brewers’ home opener.

Paul DeJong connected for the second straight game, hitting his third homer this season to boost the Cardinals. The Brewers had opened the season with a three-game sweep at San Diego.

Mikolas (1-0) gave up a two-run homer to Eric Thames and solo shots to Lorenzo Cain and Manny Pina. But the 29-year-old righty benefited from the Cardinals’ own outburst at hitter-friendly Miller Park.

Mikolas (1-0) got in on the fun in the fifth with his first major league hit — a two-run homer off Zach Davies (0-1) that broke a 2-2 tie.

It was a memorable return to the majors for Mikolas. He gave up seven hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings in his first big league start since Aug. 25, 2014, when he pitched eight innings for the Texas Rangers in a 2-0 win over Seattle.

Mikolas played 37 games for San Diego and Texas in 2012-14. He was 4-6 on the mound and 0 for 4 at the plate.

DeJong’s two-run shot, highlighted a four-run sixth that gave St. Louis an 8-2 lead.

The Brewers threatened in the bottom of the sixth. After Thames homered, they put runners on the corners, but reliever Bud Norris struck out Orlando Arcia on a 2-2 slider to end the threat.

Davies allowed eight hits and seven runs — six earned — over 5 1/3 innings in his season debut. The 25-year-old right-hander is coming off a career-best 17-win season in 2017.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Jack Flaherty makes his first start of the season against the team he faced in the 2017 season finale. He allowed four runs on five hits over five innings on Oct. 1, his only career outing against Milwaukee.

Brewers: RHP Chase Anderson takes the hill in his first turn since tossing six shutout innings to start the 2-1 win in extra innings on opening day in San Diego. He is 2-2 with a 2.72 ERA in nine career starts against the Cardinals.

Atlantic boys basketball Head Coach Alan Jenkins is leaving the program to become the Head Boys Basketball Coach at Southeast Polk High School in Pleasant Hill.

Jenkins has been the Head Coach for the Trojans since the Winter of 2013 which he took over for Steve Blazek. Jenkins came to Atlantic for his first Head Coaching job from an Assistant Coach position at Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln High School.

In 2017 he led the Trojans to their first appearance at the State Basketball tournament since his playing days in 2002.

Jenkins had a record of 70-45 in his time with the Trojans.

The Southeast Polk Rams finished the 2017-18 season with a record of 6-15.

The Glenwood Ram Relays that were to be held tonight have been postponed until Thursday, April 5th beginning at 4:30pm.  The Atlantic track and field teams are set to compete at the meet along with Clarinda, Lewis Central, Creston, Red Oak, Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson, Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln, and Missouri Valley.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Jim Field.

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The Iowa baseball team scored two runs in the seventh inning to break 2-2 tie to post a series-clinching 4-2 victory over 22nd-ranked Illinois on Sunday at Illinois Field as the Hawkeyes claimed the rubber game of their three game series.

Iowa coach Rick Heller. McDonald struck out six over six and a third innings of work to improve to 2-1 on the season. The Hawkeyes finished the game with 11 hits.

The Hawkeyes are 3-2 in the Big Ten after opening conference play against a pair of rated foes.

It’s Iowa’s first road series win over a ranked opponent since 2015 when it took 2-of-3 games at No. 16 Maryland.

(Learfield Sports)

Iowa defensive line coach Reese Morgan made an effort build more depth a year ago and it has paid off. the Hawkeyes have eight players returning who garnered significant playing time for a unit that may be the deepest on the team.

Morgan says it is an experienced group but one that has not taken over as the leaders on defense just yet.

Morgan says the group needs to develop some vocal leaders.

(Learfield Sports)

Northern Iowa coach Mark Farley says the first goal is to develop players than find a style of play that fits them. After an 8-5 season that included a trip to the second round of the FCS playoffs the Panthers enter their second week of spring drills.

Quarterback Eli Dunne returns to lead an offense that Farley says should benefit from added continuity.

UNI’s spring game is April 27.

(Learfield Sports)

NEW YORK (AP) — Paul DeJong had the first multihomer game of his big league career, Luke Weaver held the Mets to one run in five innings and the St. Louis Cardinals beat New York 5-1 on Sunday to avoid an opening three-game sweep. DeJong sent a fastball off the facing of the left-field second deck in the second inning, making him 3 for 3 with a pair of homers in his career against Steven Matz (0-1). DeJong hit his second solo homer in the eighth against Jacob Rhame. DeJong hit .285 with 25 home runs and 65 RBIs as a rookie last year, earning a $26 million, six-year contract.

Marcell Ozuna broke out of an 0-for-9 start with three hits, including an RBI double in the third and a run-scoring single in the fifth. Yadier Molina hit a leadoff homer in the fourth for the Cardinals, outscored 15-6 in the first two games. Weaver (1-0) last summer became the first Cardinals rookie to win seven straight starts since Ted Wilks in 1944. A rare starting pitcher with a single-digit uniform number (7), he struggled through a 27-pitch first inning in his first outing against the Mets and gave up Amed Rosario’s tying single in the second. The 24-year-old right-hander settled in and wound up allowing five hits, four of them singles.

After solid starts by Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom, Matz tried to put behind an injury-decimated sophomore season in which the lefty slumped to a 2-7 record. He struggled with his control and was up to 51 pitches after two innings and 73 after three. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs and four hits. New York has not opened 3-0 since 2012. The Mets kept up their terrible trend of last year, when they were 16-36 in series finales.

Up next for the Cardinals: RHP Miles Mikolas makes his first big league appearance since Aug. 25, 2014, when he starts Monday at Milwaukee. He spent the past three seasons with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan’s Central League. You can hear the game on KJAN beginning with the pregame show at 12:15-p.m., Monday. The first pitch is set for 1:10-p.m.