Red alert: The St. Louis Cardinals have now reeled off four-straight wins after an 0-3 start to the regular season. The Milwaukee Brewers were the latest casualties of the Cards’ scoring barrage this past Monday, but are actually playing better than what we expected from them during the offseason.
Milwaukee and St. Louis’ three-game series resumes this April 13-14 after taking a break from action on Tuesday, with both clubs eagerly looking to keep pace with the rest of their loaded division. Will the Cardinals score in double figures yet again over the next couple of games, or will the Brewers finally find a way to contain them?
Let’s break down the two remaining matchups in this intense NL Central showdown below. Afterwards, catch another exciting divisional regular-season battle with our series preview for White Sox vs. Twins right after this.
Milwaukee Brewers vs. St. Louis Cardinals Regular-Season Series Preview
Game 2: April 13, 8:15 PM ET – Chase Anderson (1-0) vs. Mike Leake (0-1)
Why the Brewers will win: The Brewers will be facing St. Louis’ Mike Leake, who sloppily surrendered seven hits and four runs in just 4.1 innings of work in his Cardinals debut last Wednesday.
Aaron Hill, Scooter Gennett and Jonathan Lucroy have combined for 10 RBIs and two homers off of Leake lifetime, with Gennett and Lucroy each having hit over .400 against the 28-year-old righty.
Why the Cardinals will win: How does 34 runs scored over the last three games sound to you? The Cards completely blew away the Brewers and Braves (twice) during that span by a combined margin of 24 runs, thanks to a rather unlikely source.
Rookie outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker went 4-for-4 in Monday’s win over Milwaukee and has a six-game hitting streak going. He has a total of 10 hits, five runs, five RBIs, and a pair of homers during that six-game stretch along with a staggering .556 batting average.
Writer’s Prediction: The Brew Crew even the series with a win after a gunfight, 7-5.
Game 3: April 14, 1:45 PM ET – Wily Peralta (0-2) vs. Jaime Garcia (0-0)
Why the Brewers will win: St. Louis’ Jamie Garcia is off to a rough start this season, having given up four runs and three walks in a no-decision against the still-winless Braves.
Thursday will also mark the first face-off between Garcia and Milwaukee’s Gennett, who is currently having an outstanding fourth season with the Brewers. He currently leads his team in batting average (.409), on-base percentage (.500) and total hits (nine). Look for the versatile second baseman to deal fair amounts of damage against the Hispanic lefty in this bout.
Why the Cardinals will win: On the other hand, Milwaukee’s own probable starter on this day, Wily Peralta, is posting even more atrocious numbers than Garcia this season. Peralta’s ERA is at 10.80 as we speak after surrendering 13 hits and 10 earned runs in just 8.1 innings of work across two starts.
Matts Carpenter and Holliday of St. Louis have combined for 5 home runs and 12 RBIs against Peralta, with Carpenter boasting a .455 batting average and Holliday at .385 against the struggling Dominican.
Writer’s Prediction: The Cards rout the Brewers again, but not by double-digits this time around. Final score: 6-2.
