The Milwaukee Brewers will have the St. Louis Cardinals over on Tuesday night for the second of a four-game bill between a pairing of the better teams in their grouping. These clubs split both of their prior series of the same length earlier this campaign.
The Beermakers (39-30) took the first of this tilt, a 2-0 final on Monday. In doing so, they also took sole possession of the National League Central.
They could stretch their edge in the MLB standings to two contests with another triumph over their familiar foes. Only the New York Mets have fewer defeats on their home diamond than Milwaukee does.
St. Louis (38-31) can climb back onto the perch by knocking the Brewers off. They haven’t had the best of luck lately, dropping four of five. They’re 9.5 games ahead of Pittsburgh in the NL Central.
The Cardinals have been one of the MLB’s better hitting teams, as they rank fourth in the big leagues with a collective .256 mark at the dish. Nobody’s been more crucial to the order’s success than first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who paces the team with a .339 batting average, 16 homers, and 58 RBIs.
His 1.031 OPS is bested by only one other player right now. Second baseman Tommy Edman, third baseman Nolan Arenado, and center fielder Harrison Bader are all swinging .268 or better.
Cardinals vs. Brewers Odds
MLB odds lean toward the visitors here. St. Louis is -1.5 on the run line at +104, while the Brewers are -125 to cover the spread.
On the moneyline, the Cards are -148 and Milwaukee a +126 underdog. The total has been set at nine runs, with the over being -118 and the under -104 at the time of this writing.
MLB betting trends point out that the Milwaukee Brewers are where they are right now, almost in spite of their effort in the batter’s box. Milwaukee has a total .233 batting average, which grades out in the bottom third of the league.
First baseman Rowdy Tellez paves the way by hitting .253, and right fielder Hunter Renfroe has a team-high 13 long balls. Shortstop Willy Adames has just as many homers, while Tellez has 10.
Left fielder Christian Yelich isn’t having the type of season he’d prefer, but with his talent, he can start to improve upon a .234 batting average.
Milwaukee is better in the pitching department, having posted a 3.69 ERA thus far.
Matchup Information
Cardinals vs. Brewers Betting Preview
Sixth-year vet Jack Flaherty will take the mound for only the second time this season for the Redbirds. Things didn’t particularly go as planned in his initial start against Pittsburgh last Wednesday. In that one, he went only three innings, allowing four runs.
St. Louis wound up dropping that decision to the Pirates, but they hope that the starter can find his footing rather than put out another performance like that. For his career, Flaherty has a 3.36 ERA and WHIP of 1.07.
Right-hander Chi Chi Gonzalez is slated to be given the ball for the Brew Crew. He’s making his third start of the season, his first two having been Milwaukee wins. In seven frames on the hill, he’s conceded a dozen hits and six earned runs so far.
His 7.71 ERA could use a lot of work, and he’ll get the chance to prove himself against a solid St. Louis Cardinals squad.
The combination of pitchers with little time on the mound this season should make for one of the more interesting tilts Tuesday.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Milwaukee Brewers Picks and Predictions
This pairing has provided some good MLB matchups, but expect the Brewers to put some more distance between themselves and the Redbirds in the grouping. Both hurlers are struggling, but Gonzalez will benefit from a home environment.
After taking a look at these MLB team stats, take Milwaukee to win outright at home with MLB picks today. The Brewers will win the series and improve in the MLB standings.
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