Shane Drohan (3-2, 2.97 ERA) took the ball for Milwaukee off a strong turn against Cincinnati, while Dustin May (5-6, 4.55) started for St. Louis on a pitch restriction after a line drive off his ankle wrecked his last outing, a start that lasted just 0.2 innings and cost him 5 earned runs. First pitch went off at 6:45 PM CT at Busch Stadium.
St. Louis also lost reliever Max Rajcic to the 15-day IL earlier Monday with an elbow issue, thinning a bullpen that had carried the club through a scorching week. Milwaukee is still navigating life without Brandon Woodruff, sidelined with shoulder inflammation, though Logan Henderson's return from a rehab assignment gives the rotation a proven arm to lean on. Bettors leaned Brewers before first pitch, with notable sharp money piling onto Milwaukee.
St. Louis came in having won 3 of its last 5, punctuated by a 17-1 demolition of the Cubs and back-to-back series wins over Atlanta and Chicago. Milwaukee's own last five was choppier at 3-2, but the Brewers still carried the league's best record into the night.
Both lineups went quiet for most of the game before Milwaukee finally broke through. The Brewers plated all 4 of their runs in the top of the 7th, erasing a 3-1 deficit that St. Louis built on 2 runs in the 3rd and 1 more in the 6th.
- 10-Day-ILBrandon Lockridge LF — Lockridge's timeline for a return has been pushed back to late July after imaging showed a chondral flap in his right patella, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
- 15-Day-ILBrandon Woodruff SP — The Brewers placed Woodruff on the 10-day injured list Sunday due to right shoulder inflammation, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILLogan Henderson SP — Henderson (back) will be activated from the IL to make his next start for the Brewers, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
- 15-Day-ILJoel Kuhnel RP — The Brewers placed Kuhnel on the 15-day injured list Saturday, retroactive to July 3, due to a right shoulder injury.
- 15-Day-ILRob Zastryzny RP — Zastryzny (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment with the Brewers' rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiliate Friday, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
- 15-Day-ILCarlos Rodriguez RP — Rodriguez (shoulder) struck out a batter and allowed three earned runs on two hits and one walk across 1.1 innings Wednesday in a rehab start for the Brewers' rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiiate.
- 15-Day-ILDL Hall RP — Hall (pectoral) has progressed to throwing on flat ground from 60-to-75 feet, Jack Stern of BrewerFanatic.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILColeman Crow SP — Crow (forearm) will throw a live batting practice session Tuesday, Jack Stern of BrewerFanatic.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILMax Rajcic RP — The Cardinals placed Rajcic on the 15-day injured list Monday with a right elbow injury.
- 60-Day-ILRamon Urias 3B — Urias (elbow) returned to St. Louis to undergo an examination on his left elbow, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
Woodruff's absence looms larger than one start given his shoulder history already cost him most of 2024 and part of 2025, but Henderson slotting back in gives Milwaukee real rotation depth to lean on. May, for his part, got through his capped outing without further ankle trouble, a small silver lining for St. Louis in a loss.
Milwaukee out-hit St. Louis 8-7 and survived 2 Cardinals errors in a game decided by a single inning. For a Brewers team chasing the division, it's the kind of quiet road win a first-place club is supposed to grind out; for the Cardinals, another close one against the class of the NL Central that got away late.