The Milwaukee Brewers are set to host the St. Louis Cardinals this week, beginning with an afternoon game on Memorial Day Monday. Milwaukee, who leads the NL Central at 30-20 on the season, swept the Cubs earlier in the week but dropped two of three to the Dodgers over the weekend. The Cardinals are coming off a rough weather weekend in Cincinnati, as they had a pair of rainouts on Friday and Sunday, wrapped around 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, with right-handers Quinn Priester and Brandon Woodruff shelved along with lefties Angel Zerpa, Rob Zastryzny, and Jared Koenig. Zastryzny, Koenig, and Woodruff are all pretty close to returning, while Priester is aiming for 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 out until mid- to late June.
St. Louis’ injured list is fairly short, with three position players making up the whole group. Outfielders Lars Nootbaar and Nathan Church are both out, with Nootbaar aiming for a June return after double heel surgery — he’s currently rehabbing at Triple-A Memphis. Church was placed on the IL with a left shoulder strain over the weekend, with his return currently TBD. Infielder Ramón Urías rounds out the IL, as he’s also TBD with a right elbow injury that has kept him out since May 5.
Jake Bauers and Brice Turang sit atop Milwaukee’s home run leaderboard with seven each, while William Contreras has been one of the better hitters over the last month or so, boosting his season line to .303/.371/.410 with four homers, eight doubles, 30 RBIs, and 28 runs. With a healthy offense, Christian Yelich, Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick, Jackson Chourio, Gary Sánchez, and Andrew Vaughn are also regularly in the mix, with Joey Ortiz, David Hamilton, Blake Perkins, and Luis Rengifo rounding things out. As a team, the Brewers are hitting .246/.333/.361 (.694 OPS ranks tied for 18th), with 34 homers (last), 246 runs (eighth), and 54 steals (tied for 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 Wetherholt is second on the team with nine homers and is a perfect 6-for-6 on the basepaths, while Alec Burleson has seven homers. Pedro Pagés, Nolan Gorman, Masyn Winn, Victor Scott II, and Iván Herrera round out the regulars for the Cards, with Bryan Torres, José Fermín, César Prieto, Thomas Saggese, and Yohel Pozo providing the depth. As a team, the Cardinals are hitting .242/.323/.393 (.716 OPS ranks 11th), with 60 homers (tied for 10th), 233 runs (tied for 11th), and 34 steals (tied for 18th).
Aaron Ashby anchors the Milwaukee bullpen with a 2.61 ERA and a perfect 8-0 record across 23 appearances, totaling 31 innings with 46 strikeouts. Grant Anderson and DL Hall are right there with Ashby with ERAs below 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 innings-eater category. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.31 team ERA (fourth), including a 3.19 starter ERA (fourth) and a 3.47 bullpen ERA (10th). They’ve struck out 488 batters (fourth) over 445 1/3 innings.
The Cardinals’ bullpen has been less than great thus far, though they’ve had a pretty group, as seven players have 23 or more appearances. Justin Bruihl leads the bullpen with 25 appearances, though he has a 5.56 ERA over 22 2/3 innings. Riley O’Brien, JoJo Romero, and Gordon Graceffo are the best of the bunch, as O’Brien leads the way with 13 saves in 17 tries and a 2.96 ERA, Romero has a 2.92 ERA, and Graceffo has a 1.65 ERA. George 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) round out the group, after Mautz was recalled on Sunday to replace Matt Svanson, who was optioned. 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). They’ve struck out 380 batters (29th) over 462 2/3 innings.
Monday, May 25 @ 1:10 p.m.: RHP Jacob Misiorowski (4-2, 1.89 ERA, 2.13 FIP) vs. LHP Matthew Liberatore (2-2, 4.70 ERA, 4.85 FIP)
Misiorowski has simply dominated in May. Over his last four starts, dating back to May 1, he’s totaled 24 1/3 innings with no runs allowed on just nine hits and five walks (0.575 WHIP), striking out 37 to maintain his lead atop MLB’s leaderboard with 88 this season. He went six scoreless with eight strikeouts on just 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, Miz has made three career starts against St. Louis, with a 3.95 ERA and 12 strikeouts over 13 2/3 innings, though all of those appearances came last season.
After a rainout in Sunday’s series finale against the Reds, the Cardinals pushed their probables back a day. That means Matthew Liberatore gets the ball in the series opener opposite Misiorowski. Liberatore, 26, hasn’t quite panned out as the top prospect he once was, with a 4.64 ERA and 4.28 FIP over 385 2/3 career innings. He’s made 10 starts this year, with a 4.70 ERA, 4.85 FIP, and 43 strikeouts over 51 2/3 innings. He went 4 2/3 innings in a no-decision his last time out, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks with nine strikeouts against the Pirates. A common opponent for Milwaukee, Liberatore has made 11 career appearances (four starts), spanning 28 2/3 innings with a 1.26 ERA, 31 strikeouts, and a perfect 4-0 record.
Tuesday, May 26 @ 6:40 p.m.: LHP Kyle Harrison (5-1, 1.77 ERA, 2.48 FIP) vs. RHP Michael McGreevy (3-3, 2.40 ERA, 4.03 FIP)
As good as Miz has been, Harrison has been about as good. He’s made nine starts this season, with a sterling 1.77 ERA, 2.48 FIP, and 59 strikeouts across 45 2/3 innings. He’s won each of his last four decisions, and the Brewers have won in each of his last six starts, dating back to early April. He went seven scoreless against the Cubs in his last outing, allowing just two hits and a walk with 11 strikeouts at Wrigley. This marks 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. Though he has a 2.40 ERA, his underlying 4.03 FIP is less than sterling, though that’s at least in part due to low strikeout numbers, with just 37 across 56 1/3 innings. He went five innings in a loss against the Pirates in his last start, allowing three runs on 10 hits and a walk, striking out just one. This marks McGreevy’s first career start against Milwaukee.
Wednesday, May 27 @ 12:40 p.m.: TBD vs. RHP Dustin May (3-5, 5.00 ERA, 3.90 FIP)
Assuming the Brewers are following their recent rotation, this would be Logan Henderson’s game. Henderson has made five starts this season, totaling 23 innings with seven runs allowed (2.74 ERA, 2.39 FIP), striking out 30. The 24-year-old righty went five scoreless against the Dodgers his last time out, allowing three walks and two hits with seven strikeouts. This would mark Henderson’s first career appearance against St. Louis.
May, 28, is now with his third team in St. Louis after agreeing to a one-year, $12.5 million contract in the offseason. A former third-round pick by the Dodgers, May has made 10 starts for the Cards this year, with a 5.00 ERA, 3.90 FIP, and 42 strikeouts across 54 innings. He took the loss in his last appearance, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks, striking out seven over 5 1/3 innings against the Pirates. May’s only career appearance came all the way back in 2021 while with the Dodgers. He went just 1 2/3 innings in that one, allowing a run on one hit (a solo homer) and a 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 hit a bit of a roadblock with the Dodgers over the weekend, but I expect they’ll bounce back against the Cardinals at home this week. Give me the Crew to take two of three.
