Series Preview: Milwaukee Brewers vs. St. Louis Cardinals

With the Brewers only needing one win against the Cardinals to clinch the NL Central, Milwaukee is in a prime position to lock up the division title. With the Cardinals being eliminated from playoff contention thanks to their first losing season since 2007, they will look to play spoiler in Milwaukee.

Lineups

Christian Yelich coming back from injury has bolstered this Brewers lineup, while Mark Canha and William Contreras have been excellent during his absence. Tyrone Taylor has hit the ball well recently, while Willy Adames remains as the team leader in home runs with 24. Carlos Santana has also been a huge addition to the team since he was acquired at the deadline.

The Cardinals have some dangerous hitters in Willson Contreras, Paul Goldschmidt, and Nolan Arenado, but have struggled this season to score runs and get wins. Milwaukee won three out of four against this lineup a week ago and should have some success in this series as well.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Tuesday, September 26 @ 6:40 p.m.: Adrian Houser vs. Zack Thompson

Adrian Houser has been a serviceable arm for Milwaukee this season, pitching to a 4.35 ERA with 86 strikeouts across 101 ¹⁄₃ innings. He looked good against St. Louis last week, allowing just one run across six innings of work with four strikeouts.

Zack Thompson has had some struggles this season, posting a 4.57 ERA in his eight starts. He has allowed 15 earned runs in away starts this season, so the Brewers might be able to find success against him.

Wednesday, September 27 @ 6:40 p.m.: Wade Miley vs. Miles Mikolas

Wade Miley has been great for Milwaukee in his role so far this season and is gunning for his 10th win in this one. His 3.20 ERA this season has been solid, and he hasn’t given up a ton of home runs, consistently putting the Brewers in a position to win.

Miles Mikolas has had trouble this season putting up quality starts, with a 7-13 record and a 4.98 ERA, Milwaukee should be able to plate some runs against him like they did in his last start when they scored five in the series finale.

Thursday, September 28 @ 3:10 p.m.: Corbin Burnes vs. Dakota Hudson

Corbin Burnes has looked a lot more like his former Cy Young self in the second half of the season than the first half, and that has been huge for the Brewers, as they can count on him to put up great performances every time he is on the mound. With a division to clinch, Corbin Burnes will hope to have his best stuff going for him in the series finale.

Dakota Hudson has been one of the better pitchers for the Cardinals this season but has still been prone to give up some runs, posting a 4.95 ERA and it gets even worse on the road. Hudson only allowed two runs in his last outing, but hopefully, the Brewers offense will continue its momentum and keep scoring runs.

Bullpen

Milwaukee’s bullpen has still been amazing this season, playing a major role in why the Brewers are one win away from clinching the NL Central. Devin Williams is still the main cog in the bullpen, but the emergence of Abner Uribe, Hoby Milner, and Elvis Peguero has proven to elevate the bullpen even more. When Milwaukee has a lead, the bullpen rarely lets it slip.

Ryan Helsley is the Cardinals' main bullpen arm, and has been solid this season with 12 saves and a 2.60 ERA in 31 appearances. John King, Andre Pallante, and Drew VerHagen have also been key arms after the injury to Giovanny Gallegos earlier this month.

Predictions

With the postseason on the way and favorable pitching matchups against a team that has struggled all season, I'll take the Brewers to sweep the Cardinals and clinch the NL Central on Tuesday night.