Cardinals Look to Finish Shortened Brewers Series Before Heading West

 The Cardinal Chronicle
Cardinals Look to Finish Shortened Brewers Series Before Heading West
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

The St. Louis Cardinals get one more swing at the Milwaukee Brewers this afternoon before the schedule points them west.

After Tuesday night's game was postponed due to rain and rescheduled as part of a July 7 split doubleheader, the Cardinals and Brewers will close out what has become a shortened two-game series today at Busch Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 12:15 p.m. Central Daylight Time, with Andre Pallante starting for St. Louis against Milwaukee rookie right-hander Brandon Sproat.

For the Cardinals, this is another chance to do what good clubs do in May: win at home, beat division opponents, and take care of business before the road gets longer.

St. Louis enters the day at 21-14, sitting second in the NL Central, 2.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs. Milwaukee comes in at 18-16, still very much alive in a crowded division but needing to stop the Cardinals from putting more distance between the two clubs.

The Cardinals opened the series Monday night with a 6-3 win behind another big swing from Iván Herrera, who delivered a bases-clearing double in the fourth inning. JJ Wetherholt added two RBIs, Kyle Leahy gave St. Louis 5 1/3 strong innings, and Riley O'Brien closed it out for his 10th save.

That was not just another early-May win. It was another marker in what has become a strong opening stretch for a Cardinals club that continues to play with energy, confidence, and just enough edge to make the rest of the division pay attention.

Now Pallante gets the baseball with a chance to finish the homestand on the right note.

Pallante enters at 3-2 with a 3.73 ERA and is coming off one of his better starts of the season. Against Pittsburgh, he allowed one run over six innings, struck out six, and did not issue a walk. That is the version of Pallante the Cardinals need — aggressive in the zone, quick outs, ground balls, and enough efficiency to keep the bullpen from being asked to cover half the game.

The historical numbers against Milwaukee have not been especially kind to him, but this is a different moment for both pitcher and club. Pallante has provided needed stability in a rotation that has been asked to hold the line through a demanding stretch of the schedule. He does not need to be spectacular today. He needs to be steady, attack the lower part of the zone, and keep the Brewers from building the kind of early traffic that turns a matinee into a bullpen scramble.

Milwaukee counters with Sproat, who brings good stuff but uneven results into his first look at the Cardinals lineup. The right-hander is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA and has had trouble working deep into games. He was tagged for four runs in 4 1/3 innings his last time out against Arizona.

That puts the first trip through the order squarely in focus for St. Louis. The Cardinals have a chance to make Sproat work, force him into the middle of the plate and get into the Brewers bullpen before the late innings. That matters, even with both bullpens rested after Tuesday’s rainout.

The Cardinals’ lineup continues to be powered by a mix of emerging young bats and timely production. Herrera has been one of the club's most important offensive pieces, extending his on-base streak to 21 games Monday with the kind of swing that changes a game in one pitch. Jordan Walker continues to look like the centerpiece of the next Cardinals era, already sitting with 10 home runs and a .585 slugging percentage through the first month-plus of the season.

Wetherholt’s continued production has also given the Cardinals another quality at-bat in key spots. His two-RBI night on Monday was another example of a young player who does not appear overwhelmed by the stage. The Cardinals have been waiting for this kind of wave — not just prospects arriving, but prospects contributing to wins that matter.

Milwaukee will not go quietly. Jackson Chourio returned Monday and immediately gave the Brewers a jolt, going 4-for-4 with two doubles and a walk in his season debut. Brice Turang also remains a problem at the top of that lineup, as he showed with a two-run homer in the ninth inning Monday.

That makes Pallante’s assignment plain enough. Keep Chourio and Turang from setting the table, avoid free passes, and make Milwaukee earn its way around the bases. With the wind expected to be a factor and Busch Stadium already leaning pitcher-friendly, this could be the kind of game where execution beats fireworks.

For St. Louis, the bigger picture is simple. The Cardinals are 5-0 against NL Central opponents this season and have a chance to stay perfect inside the division. That is not a small thing. Division games are where seasons get shaped. You do not win the Central in early May, but you can absolutely begin stacking the evidence.

Today gives the Cardinals a chance to win another series, protect home field and carry momentum into the next leg of the schedule.

The old baseball truth still applies: beat the teams in your division, especially at home, and the standings usually take care of themselves.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports
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