Cardinals Face Off in Doubleheader Against the Brewers
The Cardinal Chronicle
Cardinals Face Off in Doubleheader Against First-Place Brewers
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
The Cardinals let one get away Monday night.
Now they have to turn the page quickly.
St. Louis returns to Busch Stadium on Tuesday for a day-night doubleheader against the first-place Milwaukee Brewers, with a chance to recover from a frustrating 4-3 loss in the series opener and keep this five-game set from getting away early.
Game 1 is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. CT and serves as the makeup game from the May 5 postponement. Game 2 is set for 6:45 p.m. CT.
The pitching picture remains unsettled in places. Milwaukee is scheduled to send right-hander Jacob Misiorowski to the mound in Game 1, while the Cardinals had not finalized their starter as of the latest listings. For Game 2, Milwaukee remains listed as TBD, while Andre Pallante is expected to get the ball for St. Louis.
That makes Tuesday a demanding baseball day for the Cardinals.
It is not just two games.
It is two games against the division leader, one day after the Cardinals had a three-run lead, a strong start from Dustin May and a real chance to strike first in the series.
Instead, Milwaukee did what first-place teams do. The Brewers waited, pressured the bullpen and turned one messy seventh inning into a 4-3 win.
May gave the Cardinals exactly what they needed Monday. He worked 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowed four hits, struck out seven and did not walk a batter. Considering the recent ankle issue and limited workload in his previous outing, that was a strong response. The Cardinals got him a 3-0 lead behind run-scoring at-bats from Nelson Velázquez, José Fermín and Masyn Winn.
Then the seventh inning changed everything.
Justin Bruihl left with a right ankle sprain while trying to make a play on a soft grounder. Ryan Fernandez came in cold, Milwaukee loaded the bases, David Hamilton delivered a two-run double, and Brice Turang followed with the two-run single that gave the Brewers the lead for good.
That is the kind of loss that can sit with a team if it lets it.
The Cardinals cannot let it.
A doubleheader gives them an immediate chance to answer, but it also puts pressure on the pitching staff, the bullpen and the roster depth. One short start in Game 1 can damage Game 2. One overworked bullpen arm can change the late innings of the nightcap. One bad inning can turn a split into a lost day.
That is why Tuesday is about more than chasing two wins.
It is about control.
The Cardinals need to control the strike zone. They need to control the running game. They need to control their defensive innings. And most of all, they need to control the damage when Milwaukee begins to apply pressure.
That is what the Brewers do well.
Milwaukee enters the doubleheader at 56-33, while St. Louis comes in at 47-41. The Brewers have won six of their last eight games and continue to play like a club that understands how to win tight games. They do not need a five-run inning to beat you. They can turn a walk, a soft single, a defensive mistake and one hard swing into enough offense to win.
The Cardinals saw that Monday.
Now they get Jacob Misiorowski in Game 1.
That is no easy assignment.
Misiorowski enters at 9-4 with a 1.47 ERA and 156 strikeouts, giving Milwaukee one of the most difficult arms in baseball through the first half. He brings power, swing-and-miss stuff and the kind of presence that can make a lineup speed itself up. The Cardinals cannot let him turn the first game into a strikeout parade.
The approach has to be disciplined without being passive.
Make him throw strikes. Do not expand the zone early. Do not chase velocity just because it looks hittable out of the hand. But when he gives the Cardinals something in the middle of the plate, they have to be ready to hit it.
Against a pitcher like Misiorowski, chances may be limited. The Cardinals cannot waste them.
That puts extra importance on the top and middle of the order. JJ Wetherholt needs to set a tone. Iván Herrera needs to get on base. Jordan Walker needs to remain a threat in the middle. Alec Burleson, Masyn Winn, Nelson Velázquez, Blaze Jordan, Pedro Pagés and the rest of the lineup have to find ways to lengthen at-bats and make Milwaukee work.
This is not the kind of pitcher a team usually knocks out by accident.
You have to earn it.
The bigger question for St. Louis in Game 1 is who takes the ball. With the starter still listed as TBD, the Cardinals may have to piece together innings, lean on a call-up or use a bulk plan depending on roster movement. Whatever direction they choose, the mission is the same.
Keep Milwaukee close.
The Cardinals do not need seven dominant innings in Game 1, but they do need enough length and enough strike-throwing to avoid exposing the bullpen before the nightcap. That will be especially important after Monday’s seventh inning and Bruihl’s injury.
Game 2 brings its own challenge.
Pallante is expected to start the nightcap for St. Louis, and the Cardinals will need him to give them exactly what he has provided at his best this season: strikes, ground balls, competitive innings and a chance to keep the bullpen organized.
Pallante does not have to be perfect.
He does have to be efficient.
A doubleheader can get away from a team when the second game becomes a bullpen scramble by the fourth inning. If Pallante can get the Cardinals into the middle or later innings with the game under control, St. Louis has a real chance to salvage or win the day.
The Cardinals’ offense also has to do its part.
Monday’s loss was not entirely on the bullpen. St. Louis scored three runs, but the club had chances to add on. Against Milwaukee, especially with the Brewers’ pitching depth and late-inning arms, three runs can disappear quickly. The Cardinals need to convert traffic into damage, not just threats.
That means productive outs. Two-out hits. Sacrifice flies. Taking the extra base when it is there. Refusing to give away at-bats with runners in scoring position.
This is not a series where style points matter.
This is a series where execution matters.
Milwaukee’s lineup gives the Cardinals plenty to handle. Brice Turang extended his hitting streak Monday and delivered the decisive swing. Christian Yelich remains a table-setter and run producer. Jackson Chourio brings danger. William Contreras is one of the better offensive catchers in the game. Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick and the rest of the lineup give Milwaukee speed, athleticism and pressure.
They are not just waiting around for home runs.
They force mistakes.
That is why the Cardinals need cleaner baseball Tuesday than they played in the seventh inning Monday. Against Milwaukee, the little things do not stay little very long. A missed play on the mound, a walk, a poorly located pitch or a failure to finish an inning can become the difference between a win and another frustrating loss.
The standings make this bigger.
The Cardinals are still in the fight, but Milwaukee is the club setting the pace in the National League Central. St. Louis cannot catch the Brewers in one day, but it can stop the bleeding, tighten the feel of the series and prevent Milwaukee from walking into Busch Stadium and taking complete control.
That starts with Game 1.
Then it has to carry into Game 2.
A split would keep the Cardinals alive in the series. A sweep of the doubleheader would completely change the tone after Monday’s loss. Getting swept would put St. Louis in a deep hole before the series even reaches Wednesday.
That is the reality of a five-game division set packed into four days.
There is not much time to breathe.
The Cardinals had Monday in their hands and lost it.
Tuesday gives them two chances to get it back.
Misiorowski waits in Game 1. Pallante is lined up for Game 2. The Brewers are in first place for a reason.
Now the Cardinals have to answer like a team still serious about chasing them.
Game Info
Matchup: Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals
When: Tuesday, July 7, 2026
Where: Busch Stadium, St. Louis
Game 1
First Pitch: 1:15 p.m. CT
Makeup of May 5 postponement
Probable Pitchers: RHP Jacob Misiorowski vs. Cardinals TBD
Misiorowski: 9-4, 1.47 ERA, 156 SO
Records: Brewers 56-33; Cardinals 47-41
Broadcast: Cardinals.TV / Brewers.TV
Game 2
First Pitch: 6:45 p.m. CT
Probable Pitchers: Brewers TBD vs. RHP Andre Pallante
Records: Brewers 56-33; Cardinals 47-41
Broadcast: Cardinals.TV / Brewers.TV
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Photo Credit: Oli Marmol, St. Louis Cardinals | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images