MILWAUKEE • The Cardinals' starting pitcher, Kyle Lohse, had his moments. But like most of his outings the last two years, Tuesday night's game ended in disappointment for Lohse and the Cardinals.

The Milwaukee Brewers' starter, Chris Narveson, had experienced most of his disappointments -- elbow and shoulder operations -- during two different tours in the Cardinals' minor league system. On Tuesday, the lefthander had one of his finest moments as a big leaguer, striking out nine and holding the Cardinals to four hits and two runs over seven innings.

The result was a 4-2 win for Milwaukee that made Narveson's season record 11-7 and Lohse's 2-7.

The game featured a rare umpiring cycle of four ejections on four different occasions -- one each for a manager (Milwaukee's Ken Macha), coach (the Cardinals' Dave Duncan), player (Milwaukee's Chris Dickerson) and a fan (unnamed).

And, hardly least, it featured the 600th career save by Milwaukee's Trevor Hoffman. Hoffman, the all-time record holder, had been replaced as Brewers closer early in the season, partially because of blowing two saves the first weekend of the season against the Cardinals.

The save was just the ninth of the season for Hoffman, who never had had fewer than 30 saves in a season since 1995.

"It's September. This isn't the idea I had of talking about this," said Hoffman. "Nonetheless, it doesn't take a bit of the edge off this."

Both starters threw 107 pitches. But Lohse used up all his in five innings, giving up four runs.

Yet Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, who said he was "irritated as hell, for a number of reasons," made it a point to say that one of those aspects of displeasure was not Lohse. One probably was Bob Davidson's inconsistent strike zone, although La Russa didn't really say that.

"The reason we lost wasn't our starting pitcher," said La Russa. "Is it ... about Lohse because he's the target of the day? That wasn't the story of the game. It was a part of the game.

"We scored two runs over nine innings, that's really the story. I know it is. Kyle is a targeted Cardinal, so I think he deserves credit for what he did today.

"You should be asking about our offense, not about our pitching."

What, then, about the offense? "It wasn't good enough," said La Russa.

The Cardinals scored only in the second on four straight hits by Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina and Colby Rasmus.

They had a chance to go farther in the inning but, with runners at second and third and one out with the score tied 2-2, Pedro Feliz popped up.

"You've got to get a run there," said La Russa. "That wasn't a very good at-bat."

As for Hoffman, La Russa said, "He's had a great career and it was a great moment for him. That's my comment."

Lohse hit Narveson's and walked Rickie Weeks to start the fifth, La Russa got Mitchell Boggs up in the bullpen. But Lohse then got Corey Hart and Ryan Braun to fly out.

"Would you say that Hart and Braun are difficult, dangerous hitters?" asked La Russa. "And you get two outs. The question was, ‘Should have I got (Lohse) out before?"

Once Lohse had retired Hart and Braun, La Russa figured Lohse had earned the right to pitch out of this spot.

Lohse, working carefully to Prince Fielder, walked him. And then he threw what he called a bad slider to Casey McGehee, who singled to left for two runs.

Over his last two starts, Lohse has given up 12 runs, all with two out.

Lohse, working with nine days' rest, easily retired the first two men he faced. But then Braun got a broken-bat single off the mound and off shortstop Tyler Greene.

Fielder hit what La Russa termed a "bad hop" double over first baseman Pujols' glove. "Is that (Lohse's) fault?" asked La Russa.

"And then he made a bad pitch to McGehee. Then he goes into the fifth inning. Did he give up any more runs?"

Not until the fifth, although the Brewers lost a run in the second on an interference call against base runner Craig Counsell.

"I hit the pitcher and then the walk (in the fifth)," said Lohse. "You're digging yourself a hole with that lineup."

Lohse is just 4-14 since being hit in the right arm by Kansas City's Ron Mahay in May 2009. "I wish that pitch had hit me anywhere else," said Lohse. "I would have saved a lot of gray hairs and frustration."

There was progress as Lohse made his fourth start since forearm surgery in early June. "I made a lot better pitches. Obviously not the results I wanted,'' he said.

Before the night was over, Davidson even had a Brewers fan removed from behind the plate. Another fan in that area tweeted a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reporter that the fan had been on catcher Molina and not Davidson, although Molina denied hearing anything.

When the night was over, Hoffman was being toasted by friend and foe alike.

Pinch hitter Aaron Miles, who made the last out on a groundout, said, "He's a true professional and a model of how to go about your business and what you strive for."

Cardinals infielder Skip Schumaker, trying to equate Hoffman's saves total to wins by a pitcher or home runs by a hitter, discussed such numbers as 350 to 400 wins for a starter and perhaps 800 home runs by a hitter.

There is no way of knowing, of course, but Schumaker's overall comment on Hoffman's accomplishment would stand the test of any debate.

"Unbelievable," said Schumaker.