It's the first meeting of the year between these two, a three-game set at Busch kicking off Monday night. The Cardinals are 20-14 and tied for second in the NL Central; the Brewers are 18-15 and looking up at them. Jordan Walker is bashing for St. Louis (10 HR, .307/.373/.591 per Bleacher Nation's series preview), while Milwaukee's lineup has been one of the most punchless in the league waiting on reinforcements.
On paper this is the kind of pitching mismatch the Brewers should win. Chad Patrick has been excellent — a 2.57 ERA through his first handful of starts, including three shutout innings in his last outing against the Nationals. Kyle Leahy, meanwhile, is the guy who slid into the rotation after the Sonny Gray trade and is still figuring out the starter workload. The 5.52 ERA tells you most of what you need to know.
The cavalry might finally be here for Milwaukee, too. Andrew Vaughn is on track to come off the IL Monday after finishing his rehab in Nashville, which would be his first time with the big club since Opening Day. Jackson Chourio was supposed to join him until he fouled a ball off his foot Saturday in a rehab game — X-rays were negative, but the return could slip a couple of days. Christian Yelich (groin) is still mid-to-late May.
- Day-To-DayGarrett Mitchell CF — Mitchell (illness) isn't in the lineup for Friday's game against the Yankees.
- Day-To-DayGerson Garabito RP — Garabito will be out for four months after undergoing surgery to address a broken bone in his foot, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
- Day-To-DayJ.B. Bukauskas RP — Bukauskas will undergo surgery on his injured right lat and be sidelined for 9-to-10 months, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
- 10-Day-ILChristian Yelich LF — Yelich (groin) is expected to progress to facing live pitching and running the bases early next week, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILJared Koenig RP — Koenig (elbow) is slated to resume a throwing program Tuesday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILBrandon Woodruff SP — Woodruff is tentatively slated to resume throwing Saturday after undergoing a minor procedure Tuesday to drain fluid from his inflamed right shoulder, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILQuinn Priester SP — Priester (wrist) is with the Brewers in St. Louis after being pulled from his rehab assignment due to shoulder soreness, Sophia Minnaert of Brewers.tv reports.
- 15-Day-ILAngel Zerpa RP — Zerpa will undergo UCL reconstruction on his left elbow next week, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
- Day-To-DaySem Robberse SP — Robberse (elbow) signed a minor-league contract with the Cardinals on Monday, which includes an invitation to spring training, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
- Day-To-DayVictor Santos RP — The Red Sox traded Santos (undisclosed) and Nick Robertson to the Cardinals on Friday in exchange for Tyler O'Neill (foot), Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.
- Day-To-DayIxan Henderson SP — Henderson (elbow) is starting the season on the 60-day injured list at Triple-A Memphis.
- Day-To-DayPacky Naughton RP — Imaging revealed damage to the UCL in Naughton's left elbow Saturday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
- Day-To-DayZack Thompson RP — The Cardinals reassigned Thompson (shoulder) to minor-league camp Monday.
- 10-Day-ILRamon Urias 3B — The Cardinals placed Urias on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with right elbow lateral epicondylitis.
- 15-Day-ILMatt Pushard RP — Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Saturday that Pushard (knee) will need "several more" rehab appearances at Triple-A Memphis before being activated from the 10-day injured list, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
- 60-Day-ILLars Nootbaar LF — Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Saturday that Nootbaar (heels) is on track to begin a rehab assignment as soon as the week of May 10, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
The bigger Brewers question hovering over the series is the rotation behind Patrick. Brandon Woodruff is getting time off before his next start, Quinn Priester is still rehabbing the wrist, and Jacob Misiorowski's hamstring has him day-to-day. Add in the Angel Zerpa Tommy John decision in the bullpen and Pat Murphy is patching things together every night. The Cardinals injury list, by contrast, is basically Lars Nootbaar and Matt Pushard.
Take the under on Leahy going deep, expect Patrick to keep doing what he's been doing, and the swing factor is whether Milwaukee's lineup actually scores enough runs to back him up. If Vaughn is in there Monday, that's the first sign they might.