MILWAUKEE — The three offensive heroes for the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday afternoon each took a different approach as to what they thought of the pink bats they used on Mother's Day.

"I'm going to get some spray paint or a highlighter and change my regular bats to pink," right fielder Corey Hart said.

"I'm taking the pink bats and spray paint them black," shortstop J.J. Hardy said.

"I'm doing both," left fielder Ryan Braun said.

Whatever they decide to do, it should involve those special pink bats, because they helped lead the Brewers to a 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park.

The three did agree that the wood in the pink bats seemed harder than what's been in their regular models. Maybe that's why the Brewers had some pop in their swings.

Hart doubled in the Brewers' second run in the first inning; Braun hit solo home runs in the third and fifth innings; and Hardy closed out a three-hit afternoon with a run-scoring double in the eighth that provided the Brewers' final run — all with the bats that will be auctioned off, with the money going to breast cancer research.

All that pink added up to what amounts to an offensive explosion for the weak-hitting Brewers these days. It also backed a solid seven-inning outing by winner Jeff Suppan (2-2) and manager Ned Yost's revamped bullpen that had Salomon Torres and Brian Shouse close out the ninth inning rather than Eric Gagne, whose status as closer now is on hold.

The victory, just the second in the last nine games, allowed Yost to provide a bit of a revisionist view on what has occurred of late for the slumping Brewers, who closed to within one game of the .500 mark (18-19) and four games of the first-place Cardinals (23-16) and Chicago Cubs (22-15).

"We're not being productive at times," Yost said of the lack of clutch hitting and the occasional pitching lapse, "but we're playing solid baseball."

That certainly was the case Sunday, when the Brewers scored their first run without needing a hit and then added to that rally on Hart's double down the left-field line that scored Tony Gwynn from first base.

"When you're struggling so much, to come out and score like we did today, that's a good sign for us," Hart said. "It's good to go out there and do it instead of just thinking about it so much."

Braun made it 3-1 in the third with a home run into the Brewers' bullpen in left field, then 4-1 in the fifth with one over the center-field wall. Both came off Cardinals starter Braden Looper (5-2).

"I haven't been swinging the bat well of late, so it's nice to get two. It's nice to contribute in a win, and a big win," said Braun, who is hitting .467 against the Cardinals this season (14-for-30) but just .236 against the rest of the league.

The benefactor was Suppan, who became the first Milwaukee starting pitcher other than Ben Sheets to pick up a victory since Manny Parra got one April 5 against San Francisco. Suppan walked five in seven innings, but they came in the first three innings and none of them came back to haunt him.

Suppan's biggest boost came in the sixth when, with runners on first and second, third baseman Bill Hall snared Troy Glaus' line drive and doubled Albert Pujols off second to end the frame.

"The win is the important thing," Suppan said, referring to the team's win, not his. "I didn't even really notice it until I started hearing it more. You go through ups and downs in the season."

This was an "up" in what has been a down time for the Brewers. But one nice gimmick for charity proved to be beneficial.

"We should continue to use those bats," Braun said. "They worked."