The Milwaukee Brewers are set to host the St. Louis Cardinals this week, starting with an afternoon game on Memorial Day Monday. Milwaukee, which leads the NL Central at 30-20 on the season, beat the Cubs earlier in the week, but dropped two of three to the Dodgers over the weekend. The Cardinals are coming off a weekend of inclement weather in Cincinnati, as they were rained out twice on Friday and Sunday, wrapping up a 1-1 doubleheader on Saturday. They currently sit in second place in the Central, 1.5 games behind Milwaukee.
The Brewers’ injured list is primarily occupied by pitchers, including right-handers Quinn Priester and Brandon Woodruff as well as left-handers Angel Czerpa, Rob Zastrzyny and Jared Koenig. Zastrzyny, Koenig and Woodruff are all close to returning, while Priester is targeting a June return. Zerpa is out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. On the position player side, outfielders Akil Baddoo and Brandon Lockridge are both out, with Baddoo currently rehabbing at Triple-A Nashville and Lockridge in mid- to late June.
St. Louis’ injured list is fairly short, with three position players making up the entire group. Outfielders Lars Nootbaar and Nathan Church are both out, with Nootbaar targeting a June return after double heel surgery – he is currently rehabbing at Triple-A Memphis. Church was placed on the IL over the weekend due to a left shoulder strain, his return is currently TBD. Infielder Ramon Urias is off the IL as he is TBD with a right elbow injury that has kept him out since May 5.
Jake Bauers and Bryce Turang top Milwaukee’s home run leaderboard with seven each, while William Contreras has been one of the better hitters over the past month, raising his season line to .303/.371/.410 with four homers, eight doubles, 30 RBI and 28 runs batted in. With a healthy offense, Christian Yelich, Garrett Mitchell, Sal Freelick, Jackson Chaurio, Gary Sanchez and Andrew Vaughn are also regularly in the mix, along with Joey Ortiz, David Hamilton, Blake Perkins and Luis Rengifo. As a team, the Brewers are hitting .246/.333/.361 (.694 OPS ranks 18th), with 34 homers (last), 246 runs (eighth), and 54 steals (second).
The St. Louis offense is led by Jordan Walker, who is turning in a career year with 15 homers, 11 doubles, seven steals and a .302/.372/.594 line through 50 games. Rookie JJ Weatherholt is second on the team with nine homers and is a perfect 6 of 6 on the basepaths, while Alec Burleson has seven homers. Pedro Paiges, Nolan Gorman, Maisin Winn, Victor Scott II and Ivan Herrera are regulars for the Cards, while Brian Torres, Jose Fermin, Cesar Prieto, Thomas Saggies and Yohel Pozo provide depth. As a team, the Cardinals are hitting .242/.323/.393 (.716 OPS for 11th), with 60 homers (for 10th), 233 runs (for 11th), and 34 steals (for 18th).
Aaron Ashby anchored the Milwaukee bullpen with a 2.61 ERA and a perfect 8–0 record in 23 appearances, totaling 31 innings with 46 strikeouts. Grant Anderson and DL Hall are right there with Ashby with ERAs under 3.00, while Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill round out the “A” bullpen. Jake Woodford, Shane Drohan and Carlos Rodriguez give Milwaukee plenty of depth in the inning-eater category. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.31 team ERA (4th), including a 3.19 starter ERA (4th) and a 3.47 bullpen ERA (10th). He has struck out 488 batters (fourth) in 445 1/3 innings.
The Cardinals’ bullpen hasn’t been that good so far, although they have a pretty good group, as seven players have made 23 or more appearances. Justin Bruehl leads the bullpen with 25 appearances, though he has a 5.56 ERA in 22 2/3 innings. Riley O’Brien, Jojo Romero, and Gordon Gracefo are the best of the group, as O’Brien leads the way with 13 saves and a 2.96 ERA in 17 attempts, Romero has a 2.92 ERA, and Gracefo has a 1.65 ERA. Jorge Soriano (3.32 ERA over 21 2/3 IP), Ryne Stanek (6.00 ERA over 21 IP), Matt Pushard (6.23 ERA over 4 1/3 IP), and Brycen Mautz (no MLB appearances) were left out of the group, with Mautz recalled on Sunday to replace Matt Swanson, who was optioned out. As a staff, the Cardinals have a 4.20 team ERA (22nd), including a 4.07 starter ERA (13th) and a 4.39 bullpen ERA (21st). He has struck out 380 batters (29th) in 462 2/3 innings.
Monday, May 25 @ 1:10 PM: RHP Jakub Misiorowski (4-2, 1.89 ERA, 2.13 FIP) vs. LHP Matthew Liberator (2-2, 4.70 ERA, 4.85 FIP)
Misiorowski has been dominant in May. In his last four starts since May 1, he has pitched a total of 24 1/3 innings, giving up no runs on just nine hits and five walks (0.575 WHIP), striking out 37 to maintain his lead on the MLB leaderboard with 88 on the season. He went six scoreless with eight strikeouts on only 74 pitches in his last outing against the Cubs, a 5–2 win as part of a three-game sweep. Including his MLB debut last June, Mize has made three career starts against St. Louis, posting a 3.95 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings, though all of those appearances came last season.
After Sunday’s series finale against the Reds was rained out, the Cardinals pushed back their prospects a day. That means Matthew Liberatore gets the ball in front of Misiorowski in the series opener. With a 4.64 ERA and 4.28 FIP in 385 2/3 career innings, the 26-year-old Liberatore has not yet emerged as a top prospect. He has made 10 starts this year with a 4.70 ERA, 4.85 FIP and 43 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings. His last outing he pitched 4 2/3 innings with a no-decision, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks with nine strikeouts against the Pirates. A common opponent for Milwaukee, Liberator has made 11 career appearances (four starts), pitching 28 2/3 innings with a 1.26 ERA, 31 strikeouts, and a perfect 4–0 record.
Tuesday, May 26 @ 6:40 PM: LHP Kyle Harrison (5-1, 1.77 ERA, 2.48 FIP) vs. RHP Michael McGreevy (3-3, 2.40 ERA, 4.03 FIP)
Harrison has been as good as Miz has been. He has made nine starts this season with a sterling 1.77 ERA, 2.48 FIP and 59 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings. He has won each of his last four decisions, and the Brewers have won each of their last six games dating back to early April. He went scoreless in his last outing against the Cubs, allowing only two hits and a walk with 11 strikeouts at Wrigley. This marked Harrison’s first career appearance against the Cardinals.
McGreevy, 25, is in his third MLB season with the Cardinals after being drafted in the first round out of UC Santa Barbara in 2021. Although he has a 2.40 ERA, his underlying 4.03 FIP is lower than Sterling’s, although this is at least partially due to lower strikeout numbers, with just 37 in 56 1/3 innings. He took the loss in his last start against the Pirates, going five innings, giving up three runs on 10 hits and one walk, striking out only one. This marked McGreevy’s first career start against Milwaukee.
Wednesday, May 27 @ 12:40 PM: TBD vs. RHP Dustin May (3-5, 5.00 ERA, 3.90 FIP)
Assuming the Brewers follow their recent rotation, this will be Logan Henderson’s game. Henderson has made five starts this season, allowing seven runs in 23 total innings (2.74 ERA, 2.39 FIP), striking out 30. The 24-year-old righty struck out five in his last outing against the Dodgers, allowing three walks and two hits with seven strikeouts. This would be Henderson’s first career appearance against St. Louis.
Mays, 28, is now with his third team in St. Louis after agreeing to a one-year, $12.5 million contract in the offseason. May, a former third-round pick by the Dodgers, has made 10 starts for the Cards this year with a 5.00 ERA, 3.90 FIP and 42 strikeouts in 54 innings. He took the loss in his last appearance, giving up four runs on six hits and two walks, striking out seven in 5 1/3 innings against the Pirates. May’s only career appearance came in 2021 with the Dodgers. He went only 1 2/3 innings in that one inning, allowing one run on one hit (a solo homer) and one walk, striking out three.
Monday, May 25: Brewers TV; Listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Tuesday, May 26: Brewers TV; Listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Wednesday, May 27: Brewers TV; Listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
The Brewers had a little trouble with the Dodgers over the weekend, but I expect them to bounce back this week at home against the Cardinals. Give me the crew to take two out of three.
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