MILWAUKEE — Ned Yost reluctantly agreed Sunday with Eric Gagne's self-assessment Saturday and removed the right-hander from the closer's role for the Milwaukee Brewers.

"He probably needs a little bit of a mental break,'' Yost said prior to Milwaukee's 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday and before he had a chance to tell Gagne of his decision.

"He's really pushing himself really hard and taking it really, really hard.''

Normally, Yost would have told Gagne of the decision before informing the media, but Gagne hadn't yet arrived in the Brewers clubhouse at Miller Park by the time Yost held his daily pregame briefing.

Gagne surrendered two runs in the ninth inning and took the loss in Saturday's 5-3 defeat to the Cardinals. Unlike other times this season when he has faltered, Gagne was very critical of himself, going so far as to say he no longer deserved to pitch in the ninth.

Yost delayed the decision during his postgame comments Saturday, but after thinking about it and meeting with general manager Doug Melvin on Sunday morning, Yost made the call. Yost was not aware of Gagne's postgame comments until told of them by Melvin.

"It's time to take a step back,'' Yost said.

Yost said he would "mix and match'' relievers Salomon Torres, Guillermo Mota, David Riske, Mitch Stetter and Brian Shouse to fill the hole left by Gagne.

"I might even take it hitter by hitter,'' Yost said. "Normally in a situation like this, you take your next-best guy, but I think I have four or five next-best guys.''

That's how it worked out in the ninth inning Sunday.

Yost called on Torres to protect a 5-2 lead and removed him for Shouse after getting two outs but leaving runners on first and third. Shouse allowed a run-scoring single but retired Adam Kennedy to pick up the save.

Gagne, who has five blown saves to go along with two losses, sat at his locker following Saturday's loss and stared into space before standing up and burying his head on the locker shelf with his arms outstretched. He then turned and addressed reporters hovering near his space.

"I think it's negative thinking that creeps back in your mind,'' he said during an interview session that lasted about 10 minutes. "It's … not thinking results and I'm thinking results. I'm going out there thinking three outs before I even get one.''

Yost essentially agreed with Gagne, believing it's more mental than physical.

"His stuff is great. That's not the problem,'' Yost said.

"He's just been beat down a bit. He needs to take a step back and regain his confidence, make an adjustment or two, and that will work.''

Yost said the Brewers' coaching staff has noted a "simple'' flaw in Gagne's approach, one that he would not reveal. However, reviews of Gagne's bad performances show that he is consistently falling behind hitters, which often leaves him little option but to throw fastballs in hitters' counts.

At one point in his career, when Gagne could throw 98 mph on a consistent basis, he could get away with that. Now, when he tops out at 94 mph and throws more consistently in the low 90s, he can't.

Melvin said he left the decision to Yost.

"I would still give him the ball in situations,'' Melvin said of Gagne. "His stuff is good, but it's tough at that part of the game.''

Melvin noted that most closers go through tough streaks. Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa said prior to Saturday's game that he was pulling back on Jason Isringhausen's late-inning responsibility after Isringhausen blew his fifth save in 16 tries during Friday night's loss to the Brewers.

"As long as you want to write stories about closers, you'll have a story every night because someone is going to blow one,'' Melvin said.

Around the horn

Right-hander Yovani Gallardo will undergo surgery Tuesday to repair the torn ACL in his right knee. Gallardo was injured May 1 in Chicago when he tried to avoid a collision with Reed Johnson, who was sliding into first base. …  Yost gave Mike Cameron his first break since rejoining the team 12 games ago and started Tony Gwynn in center field. Cameron, hitless in his last 13 at-bats and mired in a 1-for-22 slump, is hitting .174. Still, Yost said the move was more for Gwynn than Cameron. "Tony Gwynn needs four at-bats,'' he said. Gwynn was hitless in three at-bats, but walked in the first and scored on Corey Hart's double.