The majors-best St. Louis Cardinals (69-39) are just one victory away from becoming the first club to reach the 70-win mark this year. They’ll look to do just that when they open up their three-game set with the MLB’s second-worst team, the Milwaukee Brewers (47-63), at Miller Park later on tonight.
Will the Cards take care of business like they always do? Or will the Brewers manage to pull off an upset? Read on for a detailed breakdown of this NL Central showdown. And if you’re still craving for more baseball action, click here and check out our preview between the Blue Jays and Yankees.
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St. Louis Cardinals vs. Milwaukee Brewers Preview
Where: Miller Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
When: Friday, August 7, 8:10 PM ET
Line: St. Louis Cardinals (-142) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (+132); Total: 7.5 — View all MLB Lines
Betting on the St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals enter their three-game set at Miller Park with some momentum on their side after winning their last two contests against the Reds. The Cards have won each of their three series with the Milwaukee Brewers, winning two of three games in each time. They’ll hope to continue holding the upper hand by taking Game 1 later tonight.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Toeing the rubber for the Cards will be Lance Lynn (8-6, 2.89 ERA), who is looking to bounce-back from a poor performance on Saturday night’s 6-2 loss to the Rockies. Lynn allowed four earned runs on seven hits in five frames. But before this, the 28-year-old righty was 5-1 with a superb 1.94 ERA over his previous nine games. Furthermore, Lynn has been quite successful against Milwaukee, owning a 7-3 record and a 2.54 ERA in 13 career starts.
Offense might be the main problem for the Cards this evening, as Lynn has only been receiving 2.82 RS/9, among the worst in the majors. Seeking to end this inefficiency at the plate will likely be Jhonny Peralta, who leads the team in batting average (.286), home runs (16), RBIs (55) and hits (116) this year.
Also, Peralta has been imposing his will on the Brewers this season, going 15-for-33 (.454) in nine games and is batting .492 in 16 career outings at Miller Park.
The Milwaukee Brewers will also have some momentum on their side when they begin their three-game set versus the Cardinals. The Brewers will look to extend their winning streak to four after winning the last three games in their series versus San Diego. The fate of that win streak essentially be determined by how Tyler Cravy (0-2, 3.64 ERA) performs on the mound for them this evening.
Cravy starts in place of the demoted Kyle Lohse, marking just his third career start in the majors. Coincidentally, the 26-year-old rookie made his season debut versus the Cards on June 2, wherein he was quite remarkable, allowing just one run and four hits over seven innings despite the 1-0 loss at Busch Stadium.
He was quite the opposite during his most recent start, though, giving up eight hits on four earned runs in the eventual 4-3 home defeat to the Atlanta Braves. Cravy will definitely be aiming for a better result and better numbers this time around.
In order for that to happen, he’ll need some good production from his teammates, particularly Adam Lind and Scooter Gennett. Lind is on fire as of late, going 11-for-24 (.458) during his current six-game hitting streak. Gennett, on the other hand, is only batting .222 in his four outings but is a .389 (7-for-18) lifetime hitter opposite the Cards’ starter Lance Lynn.
