Game Thread #113: Milwaukee Brewers (61-51) vs St. Louis Cardinals (62-51)

The rubber game of the series takes place this afternoon, and the Brewers and Cardinals are playing for first place today. A half game apart entering the day, a Brewers win puts them a half game ahead entering a tough series against the Dodgers, while a loss would put them 1 ¹⁄₂ games behind. The teams are even at 7-7 against each other this season, and with tiebreakers now handled with records, taking the season series ensures that tiebreaker if the teams are tied.

Aaron Ashby is on the mound for the Brewers today. In his last start against the Reds, he was roughed up for four runs allowed in 4 ²⁄₃ innings, with three hits and five walks allowed. He was better in his two starts before that. Even though he allowed five runs against the Red Sox, none were charged to him. The start before that was his best of the season, where he pitched seven innings and allowed just two runs, but took the loss because the Brewers didn’t score. In fact, Ashby’s had a rough streak when he starts, as the Brewers have lost nine of his last 10 starts.

On the other side, Miles Mikolas starts for the Cardinals. Though he was an All-Star for the Cardinals, he has struggled since the All-Star Break. In his four starts since the break, he’s allowed 21 runs and 35 hits in 21 innings, with 10 and 14, respectively, coming in his last start against the Rockies. His control has still been good (16:4 K/BB), but he has been very hittable. Before the break, he had a 2.54 ERA, though that has jumped to 3.50.

Here are the lineups for the Sunday afternoon game. It will be on Bally Sports Wisconsin and the Brewers Radio Network.