Cardinals at Brewers
No team makes itself more at home in Milwaukee than the St. Louis Cardinals, who go for a three-game sweep of the host Brewers on Wednesday afternoon. The Cardinals extended their winning streak in Milwaukee to five games with a 10-3 drubbing on Wednesday to clinch their 10th consecutive series victory at Miller Park.
Jaime Garcia has recorded 10 career wins against the Brewers - tied for his most against any opponent - after setting a career high with 13 strikeouts in a one-hit shutout of Milwaukee on April 14. Cardinals leadoff hitter Matt Carpenter is a staggering 8-for-10 with three doubles, two triples and seven runs scored in the first two games of the series while Matt Holliday registered two homers and six RBIs during a streak of four straight multi-hit performances. Ryan Braun delivered an RBI double in his return to the lineup for Milwaukee, which had won five of six before getting outscored 16-3 in the first two games of the series. The loss dropped the Brewers to 7-24 in their last 31 home contests against St. Louis.
TV: 1:40 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals LH Jaime García (4-4, 3.47 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Zach Davies (2-3, 5.40)
Garcia rebounded from his worst start of the season with a strong outing against Washington, permitting two runs and seven hits in seven innings. Garcia lasted only 2 1/3 frames in his previous turn against Arizona and was pounded for five runs and 10 hits while failing to strike out a batter. He improved to 10-4 with a 2.67 ERA versus Milwaukee with his compete-game gem in April and has limited Braun to 8-for-49 with nine strikeouts.
Although he still has not shown the ability to pitch deep into games, Davies continued his upward trend with a victory at Cincinnati last time out, giving up two earned runs over 5 2/3 innings. It marked the fourth time during the 23-year-old's five-start unbeaten streak that he has yielded two earned runs, a dramatic improvement after giving up 16 in his first three turns. The long ball is an issue for Davies, who has allowed five homers in his last three starts.
WALK-OFFS
1. Brewers C Jonathan Lucroy is 9-for-17 with two homers and 11 RBIs during his five-game hitting streak.
2. Cardinals rookie SS Aledmys Diaz is 4-for-9 in the series and 8-for-21 this season versus Milwaukee.
3. The Brewers claimed RHP Neil Ramirez off waivers from the Chicago Cubs and expect him to be available in the bullpen for the series finale.