Milwaukee's got the best team in the division and a soft spot in the schedule to prove it. St. Louis just needs to keep playing spoiler.
Bush’s Picks
MILSTL
MILSTL
OverUnder
Best BetBrewers
Milwaukee's the better team by record and by run differential trend, and that gap doesn't close just because the Brewers are shuffling arms behind Woodruff. St. Louis has the recent form and the lineup thump to make this competitive, but backing the Brewers to win outright is still the safer read given the overall talent gap.
Brewers
+Best record in baseball's second tier, 55-33
+8-game division lead gives margin for error
+Mixed 3-2 in last 5 but still winning series
−Woodruff back on IL with shoulder inflammation
−Bullpen down Kuhnel, Zastryzny, Fitzpatrick, Rodriguez, Hall
−Henderson still working back from injury himself
Cardinals
+Won 4 of last 5, offense surging (17 runs, 11 runs)
+Jordan Walker driving a hot lineup stretch
+Fighting for final NL Wild Card spot, motivated
−8 games back of Milwaukee in the division
−Sitting in last Wild Card spot, no room for slippage
−Rotation situation has been unsettled all year
The Brewers show up to Busch Stadium with the best record in the NL Central and an 8-game cushion on the field, while the Cardinals are clinging to the last NL Wild Card spot. Milwaukee's rotation has taken a hit lately, and Thursday's series finale is the one to watch for that reason alone.
Brandon Woodruff landed back on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation after exiting a start in Arizona, and Logan Henderson has been working his way back from his own IL stint through a rehab assignment. Both sides will list starters closer to game time, but the Brewers' need for length in this series finale is real given how thin the bullpen picture has gotten with Joel Kuhnel and Rob Zastryzny also out.
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MIL Brewers
STL Cardinals
None of that has slowed Milwaukee down much. The Brewers are 55-33 and still find ways to win series even when the pitching staff is running on fumes, while the Cardinals have been the streakiest team in baseball all year — win four, lose four, repeat.
St. Louis just closed out a road trip that swung from a 5-1 loss in Atlanta to an 11-5 win a day later, then a 17-1 demolition of the Cubs. Jordan Walker's been a driving force behind that offensive surge, and if the Cardinals lineup shows up hot again this weekend, it's a real problem for a Brewers pitching staff that's missing multiple arms.
Milwaukee Brewers
Jul 8?@ Cardinals—
Jul 7?@ Cardinals—
Jul 7?@ Cardinals—
St. Louis Cardinals
Jul 8?vs Brewers—
Jul 7?vs Brewers—
Jul 7?vs Brewers—
Recent form.
This is a Thursday finale for a team, Milwaukee, that doesn't need this game the way St. Louis does. The Cardinals are fighting for playoff position in a crowded Wild Card race and can't afford to keep dropping series to teams ahead of them in the standings.
Milwaukee Brewers
(0)
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.
Milwaukee's front office has bigger fish to fry than one July game in St. Louis — division cushion, health, setting up the stretch run. But every game against a division-adjacent Wild Card threat still matters on the margins, and beating up on a team like the Cardinals now saves a headache in September.
