Cardinals Open Critical Five-Game Set Against the 1st Place Brewers
The Cardinal Chronicle
Cardinals Open Critical Five-Game Set Against the 1st Place Brewers
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
The Cardinals did what they needed to do at Wrigley Field, by winning the series, but now comes the big test.
After taking two of three from the Chicago Cubs over the Fourth of July weekend, St. Louis returns home Monday night to open a five-game series against the first-place Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium. The set runs Monday through Thursday, with a Tuesday doubleheader built in as the makeup for the May 5 postponement.
That makes this more than a normal division series.
This is a chance for the Cardinals to measure themselves directly against the club setting the pace in the National League Central.
Milwaukee enters the series at 55-33, while St. Louis comes in at 47-40. The Brewers sit atop the division, and the Cardinals are still trying to close ground while holding their place in the National League Wild Card picture. The math is not complicated. These games count twice emotionally, if not officially: a Cardinals win adds one to their column and hands one to the team they are chasing.
That is old-school standings math, and it still works just fine.
The Cardinals leave Chicago with mixed feelings. They opened the series with a 17-1 blowout, followed it with a 3-0 shutout, then missed a chance at the sweep Sunday when the Cubs rallied for a 6-4 win. St. Louis still won the series, which matters, but Sunday was a reminder that division games are rarely handed over cleanly. The Cardinals had a lead and let it get away.
Against Milwaukee, that kind of margin will be even thinner.
The Brewers are built differently than most teams the Cardinals have seen lately. Milwaukee has won with run prevention, pitching depth and enough athletic offense to keep pressure on opponents. The Brewers may not lead the league in home runs, but they score runs, steal bases and force pitchers to keep working.
That means St. Louis cannot give away free baserunners. Walks, defensive mistakes and missed cutoff throws are exactly how Milwaukee turns ordinary innings into trouble.
Monday’s opener is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. CT at Busch Stadium, with right-hander Dustin May expected to start for the Cardinals against Brewers left-hander Shane Drohan.
May enters at 5-6 with a 4.80 ERA. His season has been a study in extremes. At his best, he has looked like a rotation stabilizer, including a dominant stretch that featured a complete-game, one-hit shutout against San Diego. At his worst, the command has leaked, the innings have gotten short, and the Cardinals have been forced to chase games earlier than they would like.
The Cardinals need the good version Monday.
May’s job is not complicated. He needs to attack the strike zone, keep the ball on the ground, avoid the big inning and give the Cardinals length. Milwaukee is too disciplined to let a pitcher survive on stuff alone. If May falls behind, the Brewers will make him work. If he gives them traffic ahead of their run producers, the opener can tilt quickly.
Drohan enters at 3-2 with a 3.12 ERA and 59 strikeouts. He gives Milwaukee a left-handed look in the opener, and the Cardinals’ right-handed bats will need to be ready. St. Louis cannot let him settle into easy early innings. The approach needs to be patient without becoming passive: make him throw strikes, create traffic, and punish mistakes in the zone.
The Tuesday afternoon game brings the biggest pitching challenge of the series, with Milwaukee scheduled to send right-hander Jacob Misiorowski to the mound. Misiorowski enters at 9-4 with a 1.47 ERA and 156 strikeouts, giving the Brewers one of the most dominant arms in the league through the first half.
That is not a casual assignment.
The Cardinals will have to grind that game. Misiorowski can miss bats, overpower hitters and turn a lineup impatient in a hurry. St. Louis cannot try to win the game with one swing in every at-bat. They need to shorten up, extend counts where possible and take advantage of whatever limited mistakes he gives them.
The second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader remains unsettled on the latest listings, with both clubs still working through pitching plans. Those are the games where depth matters. A doubleheader can expose a roster quickly, especially if the first game drains the bullpen. The Cardinals will need length somewhere, whether it comes from a starter, a bulk arm or a reliever asked to cover more than three outs.
Wednesday is expected to feature Brewers left-hander Kyle Harrison, who enters at 8-1 with a 2.82 ERA and 99 strikeouts. Harrison gives Milwaukee another tough left-handed starter and another reason the Cardinals’ right-handed bats have to carry a large part of the series. Jordan Walker, Iván Herrera, Masyn Winn, Blaze Jordan, Pedro Pagés and the rest of the right-handed group will have opportunities, but they will also have to handle quality stuff.
Thursday’s finale remains partly unsettled, with Milwaukee’s starter still to be determined after Brandon Woodruff’s latest shoulder issue. For the Cardinals, Kyle Leahy is expected to factor into the back half of the series, with Andre Pallante also positioned as one of the key arms St. Louis will need during the five-game stretch.
That is the larger story for the Cardinals.
The pitching has to hold.
The offense has enough talent to win games. Walker continues to look like the middle-order bat St. Louis has been waiting on, entering the series with 20 home runs and 67 RBIs. Alec Burleson remains one of the steadier bats on the roster. Herrera gives the lineup on-base value. JJ Wetherholt has brought polish, energy and production from the top of the order. Nathan Church, Bryan Torres, Masyn Winn and others have helped lengthen the lineup.
But against Milwaukee, offense alone will not be enough.
The Brewers bring the best pitching staff in baseball by ERA, and their rotation has been especially strong. Milwaukee also has late-inning arms capable of shortening games once they get a lead. That puts pressure on the Cardinals to score early and avoid waiting around for one late rally.
The Cardinals cannot afford to sleepwalk through the first five innings, then hope the ninth bails them out.
They need early traffic. They need productive outs. They need to turn leadoff baserunners into runs. They need to make Milwaukee’s pitchers feel every inning.
The Brewers’ offense has plenty of pieces to watch. Jake Bauers leads the club in home runs, Jackson Chourio continues to bring power and athleticism, Brice Turang has been productive, and William Contreras remains one of the better catching bats in the league. Christian Yelich, Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, Gary Sánchez and Andrew Vaughn give Milwaukee more than enough depth to punish mistakes.
This is not a lineup built around one hitter.
It is built around pressure.
That is why the Cardinals’ defense matters. Winn’s glove at shortstop, Wetherholt’s work at second, Walker’s improving reads in right, Church’s outfield range and the catching staff’s handling of the running game all become part of the story. Against Milwaukee, the little things tend to turn into big innings if they are not handled cleanly.
This series also comes at a critical time in the standings.
The Cardinals are still contenders because the standings say they are in the race. But contenders have to win games against the teams in front of them. Beating the Cubs two of three at Wrigley was a good step. Hosting Milwaukee for five games is a larger opportunity.
A strong series could tighten the division picture and give St. Louis real momentum heading toward the All-Star break.
A poor series could widen the gap and make the trade-deadline conversation feel a lot more urgent.
That is the reality.
The Cardinals are flawed. The pitching remains the question. The bullpen has had moments that make a one-run lead feel like a prayer request. The offense can still run hot and cold. But this team has also shown it can beat good clubs, win road series and get real production from a young core that is no longer waiting on tomorrow.
Now comes Milwaukee.
Five games. Four days. First-place opponent. Busch Stadium.
If the Cardinals want to keep climbing, this is where the ladder starts.
Series Info
Matchup: Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals
Dates: Monday, July 6 through Thursday, July 9, 2026
Venue: Busch Stadium, St. Louis
Broadcast: Cardinals.TV / Brewers.TV
Monday, July 6
First Pitch: 6:45 p.m. CT
Probable Pitchers: LHP Shane Drohan vs. RHP Dustin May
Drohan: 3-2, 3.12 ERA, 59 SO
May: 5-6, 4.80 ERA, 78 SO
Tuesday, July 7 — Game 1
First Pitch: 1:15 p.m. CT
Makeup of May 5 postponement
Probable Pitchers: RHP Jacob Misiorowski vs. Cardinals TBA
Misiorowski: 9-4, 1.47 ERA, 156 SO
Tuesday, July 7 — Game 2
First Pitch: 6:45 p.m. CT
Probable Pitchers: Brewers TBA vs. Cardinals TBA
Wednesday, July 8
First Pitch: 6:45 p.m. CT
Probable Pitchers: LHP Kyle Harrison vs. Cardinals TBA
Harrison: 8-1, 2.82 ERA, 99 SO
Thursday, July 9
First Pitch: 6:45 p.m. CT
Probable Pitchers: Brewers TBA vs. Cardinals TBA
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Photo Credit: Dustin May, St. Louis Cardinals | | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect