Cardinals at Brewers
Even with his team playing great ball and in possession of the best record in the National League, Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell is still making adjustments - and they all seem to be working. Counsell will try to push the right buttons again Tuesday when the first-place Brewers host the St. Louis Cardinals for the second of a key three-game series between NL Central rivals.
Counsell moved veteran slugger Ryan Braun down to the fifth spot in the batting order at the slugger's request Monday, and he responded by going 3-for-3 and scoring three times in Milwaukee’s 8-3 victory. The Brewers (35-20) have won four straight and are 7-1 on their current homestand, and they’ve scored eight or more runs in three consecutive games – one shy of tying the club record. "When you're playing like this, it's really important to rack up as many wins as possible because you know you're not going to be able to fire on all cylinders at all times," Braun told reporters. "I think we've done a really good job of taking advantage to this point of the fact that we've done everything well over the last couple of weeks." The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Cardinals, but they’ve lost nine of their last 15 and slipped five games back of the Brewers and a half-game behind the second-place Chicago Cubs.
TV: 7:40 p.m. ET, FS Midwest (St. Louis), FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Michael Wacha (5-1, 2.88 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Zach Davies (2-4, 4.74)
Wacha hasn’t lost since his season debut on March 31, and he has only allowed more than two runs in one of his nine starts since then. The 26-year-old recorded his third straight quality start Wednesday, allowing two runs (one earned) over 6 2/3 innings in a no-decision against Kansas City. Wacha is 4-0 with a 4.60 ERA in 10 games (nine starts) against Milwaukee.
Davies is making his second start since spending nearly a month on the disabled list with a rotator cuff injury. The 25-year-old wasn’t at his sharpest in his return to the rotation Thursday against the New York Mets, allowing four runs and six hits and failing to record an out despite facing three batters in the fifth inning. Davies is 2-1 with a 4.22 ERA in seven starts against the Cardinals.
WALK-OFFS
1. Brewers RF Christian Yelich is 12-for-25 during a six-game hitting streak and has recorded multiple hits in four straight.
2. Cardinals SS Yairo Munoz hit his first major-league home run Monday and is 9-for-17 in five starts in place of injured Paul DeJong.
3. St. Louis catchers have not thrown out a baserunner trying to steal over the first 51 games - the longest streak to begin a season in major-league history.