Milwaukee's already taken 3 straight off St. Louis this week, including a doubleheader sweep that wasn't close. Now the Brewers get a fourth crack at a Cardinals team that looks completely out of answers.
Bush’s PicksPicks madeJul 8, 4:11 AM CT
-133-142MILSTL+131
+121MIL -1.5STL +1.5-143-133
+104Over 8.5Under 8.5-119
Best BetBrewers -142
Milwaukee's the best team in baseball right now and it's not particularly close — 58-33, winners of 4 of 5, and they've already beaten this exact Cardinals team 3 times this week. St. Louis is reeling with a taxed bullpen and an offense that keeps going cold behind its starters. Sharp money has already stacked up on the Brewers here, and there's little reason to fight it.
Brewers
+58-33, one of baseball's best records
+won 4 of last 5
+Harrison has 2.82 ERA, elite strikeout rate
−Harrison's last start was cut short at 2.2 innings
−several relievers out including Kuhnel, Hall, Zastryzny
Cardinals
+McGreevy has posted quality starts in 5 of last 6
+playing at home at Busch Stadium
−lost 4 straight, all against this Brewers team
−bullpen down Stanek after leg injury, plus Bruihl, Rajcic
Kyle Harrison (8-1, 2.82) gets the ball for Milwaukee looking to close out the series in style, going up against Michael McGreevy (3-7, 3.12), who's had to watch his own offense disappear behind him more often than not this year. First pitch is 6:45 PM CT at Busch Stadium.
St. Louis has lost 4 straight, and the last 3 have all come against this same Brewers team. Tuesday's doubleheader was the low point — St. Louis dropped both ends, capped by a 10-2 blowout where Milwaukee put up 7 runs in the seventh inning alone. The Cardinals bullpen has been stretched thin all week, and Ryne Stanek, one of their more trusted late-inning arms, left Tuesday's game with a leg injury after a collision at first base. That's one more name to worry about for a relief corps that's already running on fumes.
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MIL Brewers
STL Cardinals
Milwaukee, meanwhile, is rolling. The Brewers have won 4 of their last 5 and lead the majors' best record conversation with a 58-33 mark. Harrison, acquired from Boston back in February, has been one of the best value additions in baseball — a 31.9 percent strikeout rate and a sub-3.00 ERA since taking over a rotation spot vacated by injury after injury in Milwaukee's staff.
Milwaukee Brewers
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
St. Louis Cardinals
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
The injury report tells two very different stories. Milwaukee's list is mostly complementary pieces — Brandon Woodruff, Logan Henderson and a handful of relievers are out, but the lineup and the top of the rotation are untouched. St. Louis is dealing with attrition in exactly the wrong spot, its bullpen, right as it needs length behind an inconsistent rotation.
Milwaukee Brewers
St. Louis Cardinals
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McGreevy has had flashes of quality starts buried in a rough season, but a 3-7 record says plenty about how little help he's gotten. If the Cardinals can't find some offense against Harrison, this series ends the way it's gone all week — with Milwaukee walking out of St. Louis having taken every game.
