Cardinals at Brewers
The first-place St. Louis Cardinals and last-place Milwaukee Brewers need look no further than pitching to understand why they occupy the spots they do in the National League Central. The Cardinals, who open a three-game series in Milwaukee on Friday, have allowed two or fewer runs in 10 of their 14 contests and boast a league-best 2.06 ERA as a result.
St. Louis continued to stymie the bats of the opposition on Thursday,
winning 4-1 in Washington for its seventh victory in eight tries. The
Cardinals also got the best of the Brewers’ bats from April 13-16,
holding them to seven runs while taking two of three at home. Milwaukee,
which owns a NL-worst 4.89 ERA, upended Cincinnati 4-2 on Thursday for
its first win since defeating St. Louis in the opener of their series
early last week. The victory ended an eight-game slide during which the
Brewers scored three runs or fewer six times, but it still left them with a
major league-worst 3-13 record and eight games behind the Cardinals.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Carlos Martinez (1-0, 2.08 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Matt Garza (1-2, 5.40)
One
of four St. Louis starters with an ERA of 2.08 or lower, Martinez
collected his first win of the season Saturday versus Cincinnati after settling for a no-decision in his first start of the year against the Reds.
The 23-year-old Dominican, who permitted one run on three hits and two
walks over six innings, has struck out nearly twice as many batters (13)
as he has allowed hits (seven). Martinez has made 12 appearances versus
the Brewers, taking the loss after yielding four runs in four frames in
his only career start against them in July.
Garza was unable
to build on his win in St. Louis on April 13 as he was tagged for five
runs and seven hits over six innings in Sunday’s loss at Pittsburgh. The 25th overall pick of the 2005 draft has as many walks as strikeouts
(nine) through three outings and is only 4-3 with a 4.03 ERA in 11
career starts against the Cardinals. Several St. Louis regulars have
feasted off Garza, including Jhonny Peralta (14-for-34), Matt Holliday
(11-for-28), Jon Jay (9-for-16) and Matt Adams (7-for-12).
WALK-OFFS
1.
St. Louis 3B Matt Carpenter has hit safely in each of the team's last
10 contests – including eight multi-hit performances – and owns a league-best
21-game on-base streak.
2. Milwaukee has received quality starts in each of its last two contests, matching the number it had over its first 14 games.
3.
Cardinals C Yadier Molina (rest) and OF Peter Bourjos (paternity
leave), who missed the Washington series, both are expected to rejoin
the lineup on Friday.