The St. Louis Cardinals are set to take on the Milwaukee Brewers today at Busch Stadium in St. Louis for the second game of a three-game weekend series. First pitch is scheduled for 1:15pm Central Time as the Cardinals look to bounce back after dropping the series opener 5-1 on Friday night.
The Cardinals enter today’s contest with a record of 40-33 on the season, good for second place in the NL Central division, 5.5 games back of the first place Brewers. Milwaukee improved to 46-28 with their victory over St. Louis on Friday. Today’s starting pitchers will be right-hander Adam Wainwright for the Cardinals and righty Brandon Woodruff for the Brewers.
Wainwright is 6-5 with a 3.32 ERA on the year for St. Louis. The veteran has been very solid for the Cardinals this season, giving them a chance to win in almost every start. In his last outing, Wainwright went 6 innings and allowed just 1 run on 4 hits against the Chicago Cubs on Monday, though he did not factor in the decision of a 3-2 Cardinals win. The 36-year old will be looking to get back on track after struggling in his previous start against Milwaukee on June 15th, giving up 5 runs in 5 innings in a no-decision.
Woodruff has emerged as the Brewers ace this season, going 8-2 with a 3.87 ERA over 14 starts. The 26-year old righty is coming off his best start of the year, tossing 7 scoreless innings of 3-hit ball against the Toronto Blue Jays on June 17th to earn his 8th win. Woodruff faced the Cardinals back on May 31st and did not factor in the decision after allowing 2 runs over 5 innings in Milwaukee’s 3-2 victory. He’ll be aiming for his first career win against St. Louis today.
The Cardinals offense will need to bounce back after being held to just 1 run on 5 hits by Brewers starter Jhoulys Chacín on Friday night. Third baseman Matt Carpenter led the way, going 2-for-4 with a double. The rest of the Cardinals lineup combined to go just 3-for-19. Cleanup hitter Paul Goldschmidt is still seeking his first hit as a Cardinal after going 0-for-4 in his Busch Stadium debut. The Cardinals will need more production from Goldschmidt and the middle of their order against Woodruff today.
On the mound, Wainwright will look to keep the potent Brewers offense in check. Milwaukee ranks third in the National League with 400 runs scored this season. Christian Yelich has been the catalyst, leading all of MLB with a .342 batting average to go along with 26 home runs and 59 RBI. Yelich went 1-for-4 on Friday and will look to stay hot today. Ryan Braun is also swinging a hot bat of late with 3 hits in his last 2 games. Wainwright will have to be sharp with his location against this dangerous Brewers lineup.
The Cardinals bullpen was called upon early on Friday, throwing 4 innings after Wainwright’s early exit. Carlos Martinez worked a scoreless 9th for the Cards. John Gant, who had been very effective as a long reliever, was hit hard for 3 runs in 1 2/3 innings. Cardinals manager Mike Shildt will likely need multiple innings from his ‘pen again today if Wainwright can’t go deep into the game. The Brewers bullpen is also taxed after Chacín only lasted 5 innings on Friday.
Both teams will be looking to grab some momentum heading into the final game of the series on Sunday afternoon. The Cardinals have played much better baseball at home this season, going 24-15 at Busch Stadium compared to 16-18 on the road. A win today in front of what is sure to be a lively home crowd could help St. Louis gain some separation in the division standings with a long stretch against NL Central foes coming up after the Brewers leave town. First pitch for today’s Cardinals vs Brewers game is 1:15pm from downtown St. Louis.
