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The Milwaukee Brewers' stretch of 18 games in 17 days heading into the all-star break continues in St. Louis on Monday, July 6, with a doubleheader Tuesday, July 7 to make it a five-game series against the Cardinals.
A Brewers-Cardinals game in St. Louis on May 5 got rained out, bumping the meeting until later in the season. And here we are.
With the Brewers coming off a 2-1 series win at Arizona and holding a six-game lead over the second-place Chicago Cubs in the National League Central Division, here's a look at what's ahead in the unusual five-game series at St. Louis:
A look at the probable pitchers in the Brewers-Cardinals series:
Ah, how quickly you forget.
The Brewers did this very same thing last year against the Cubs, playing five games Aug. 18-21, including a doubleheader. The Brewers were at the front end of a stretch that featured 19 games in 18 days and had just lost to Cincinnati in a walk-off thriller Aug. 17, snapping the team's franchise-record 14-game winning streak.
The Brewers won the opener, 7-0, on Monday, Aug. 18, but the second game of the doubleheader that day was rained out again and pushed to Tuesday. The next day, the Brewers lost both games, then lost a third straight Aug. 20 with Misiorowski on the hill, though that game came down to the wire.
The Brewers bounced back for a 4-1 win Thursday, then returned home for the start of a seven-game homestand.
Oh, yes, we forgot to mention, there was also the other five-game series with the Cubs later in the 2025 season, the National League Division Series that the Brewers won, 3-2.
In 2020 during the COVID-19 schedule, the Brewers played five straight games at home against the Cardinals, going 3-2. The series featured a doubleheader Sept. 14, an 18-3 win Sept. 15 and a doubleheader Sept. 16, with the teams splitting both twinbills.
The Brewers then closed the season with another five-game set against the Cardinals, including a split doubleheader Sept. 25. Milwaukee lost that series, 3-2, alternating wins and finishing the abbreviated year 29-31.
In 2018, the Brewers played a five-game series against Pittsburgh right before the all-star break, losing all five games in the midst of a seven-game losing streak. That included a doubleheader sweep July 14 and a gut-punching 7-6 walk-off loss in the rain July 15. Milwaukee, of course, still rallied to win a franchise-record 96 games that year. But the Brewers will again close the first half against Pittsburgh in 2026.
The Cardinals are 47-40, 7½ games behind the Brewers but still in a wild-card spot if the season ended today. They're 1½ games behind the Cubs for second place in the NL Central.
The Cardinals' hold on that third and final wild-card spot is tenuous, though. They have only a percentage-points lead on Miami (49-42) and are virtually tied in the standings.
Brewers fans have a rightful gripe about second baseman Brice Turang getting snubbed from the all-star team, but the Cardinals have their own bone to pick over a second baseman.
Rookie JJ Wetherholt leads the team in WAR (4.2) according to Baseball Reference, with a .780 OPS, 13 homers and nine steals, in addition to strong defense. He's ranked top five among all individual fielders in "defensive runs saved" this year.
Outfielder Jordan Walker, who did make the all-star team, leads the National League with 67 RBIs and has 20 homers in his breakout season.
McGreevy might not be a name that immediately jumps to mind when you think of the best starters in the league, but he has a 3.12 ERA over 17 starts even though he's not a big strikeout guy (60 in 95 innings).
May had a complete-game one-hitter against San Diego on June 15, but his last two starts have been disasters. He allowed six runs in just two innings June 21 against Kansas City and then five runs without making it through the first against Atlanta on July 2.
Turang, by the way, has a .962 OPS over his eight-game hitting streak heading into the series.
The Brewers have gone 4-1 against St. Louis in 2026. They split games in St. Louis in early May – the series that was shortened by one game because of rain, moved to this week instead – and Milwaukee swept a series at American Family Field on May 25-27.
If Milwaukee wins the five-game series, it'll secure the season-long tiebreaker against the Cardinals, should that come into play.
Rejoice! After needing four services to watch every Brewers game last week – Brewers.TV, Apple TV, ESPN and Peacock – rest assured that all five games in this series will air on Brewers.TV.
We can't make the same promise for the Pirates series. The Sunday finale before the all-star break will air on Peacock.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Why the Brewers are playing five games in St. Louis vs Cardinals
Continue reading...
A Brewers-Cardinals game in St. Louis on May 5 got rained out, bumping the meeting until later in the season. And here we are.
With the Brewers coming off a 2-1 series win at Arizona and holding a six-game lead over the second-place Chicago Cubs in the National League Central Division, here's a look at what's ahead in the unusual five-game series at St. Louis:
Who's pitching in the five-game series between the Brewers and Cardinals?
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A look at the probable pitchers in the Brewers-Cardinals series:
- Monday, July 6, 6:45 p.m.: Brewers LHP Shane Drohan (3-2, 3.12) vs. St. Louis RHP Dustin May (5-6, 4.80). May took a no-hitter into the eighth inning of a start at American Family Field earlier this year, and then the Brewers battled back for a 2-1 victory. His last two starts have been ugly.
- Tuesday, July 7 (Game 1), 1:15 p.m.: Brewers RHP Jacob Misiorowski (9-4, 1.47) vs. St. Louis RHP Michael McGreevy (3-7, 3.12) or TBA. McGreevy will pitch in one of the two games; we just don't know which. Misiorowski is coming off a shaky previous start when he allowed five runs (one earned) in five innings against Cincinnati.
- Tuesday, July 7 (Game 2), 6:45 p.m.: Brewers TBA vs. St. Louis RHP Michael McGreevy (3-7, 3.12) or TBA. Despite the TBA for the Brewers, it's pretty likely this will be Robert Gasser, who can be added back to the roster briefly as the "27th man" for the second game of the doubleheader. Gasser was optioned after his last start as a paperwork move that enabled the team to add a reliever, knowing they'd call on Gasser just once more before the break.
- Wednesday, July 8, 6:45 p.m.: Brewers LHP Kyle Harrison (8-1, 2.82) vs. St. Louis RHP Andre Pallante (10-5, 3.60). This would figure to be Harrison's last start before the all-star break, making him eligible as a replacement for the National League roster if vacancies were to pop open. And we know they will, including with teammate Misiorowski.
- Thursday, July 9, 6:45 p.m.: Brewers TBA vs. St. Louis RHP Kyle Leahy (7-4, 3.86). This looks like a likely spot for Logan Henderson, who made his second (and seemingly final) rehab start in Class AAA Nashville on July 4. Brewers manager Pat Murphy indicated Henderson's next start would be with the Brewers.
When did the Brewers last play a regular-season five-game series?
Ah, how quickly you forget.
The Brewers did this very same thing last year against the Cubs, playing five games Aug. 18-21, including a doubleheader. The Brewers were at the front end of a stretch that featured 19 games in 18 days and had just lost to Cincinnati in a walk-off thriller Aug. 17, snapping the team's franchise-record 14-game winning streak.
The Brewers won the opener, 7-0, on Monday, Aug. 18, but the second game of the doubleheader that day was rained out again and pushed to Tuesday. The next day, the Brewers lost both games, then lost a third straight Aug. 20 with Misiorowski on the hill, though that game came down to the wire.
The Brewers bounced back for a 4-1 win Thursday, then returned home for the start of a seven-game homestand.
Oh, yes, we forgot to mention, there was also the other five-game series with the Cubs later in the 2025 season, the National League Division Series that the Brewers won, 3-2.
When were the most recent Brewers five-game series before last year?
In 2020 during the COVID-19 schedule, the Brewers played five straight games at home against the Cardinals, going 3-2. The series featured a doubleheader Sept. 14, an 18-3 win Sept. 15 and a doubleheader Sept. 16, with the teams splitting both twinbills.
The Brewers then closed the season with another five-game set against the Cardinals, including a split doubleheader Sept. 25. Milwaukee lost that series, 3-2, alternating wins and finishing the abbreviated year 29-31.
In 2018, the Brewers played a five-game series against Pittsburgh right before the all-star break, losing all five games in the midst of a seven-game losing streak. That included a doubleheader sweep July 14 and a gut-punching 7-6 walk-off loss in the rain July 15. Milwaukee, of course, still rallied to win a franchise-record 96 games that year. But the Brewers will again close the first half against Pittsburgh in 2026.
Where are the Cardinals in the National League Central hunt?
The Cardinals are 47-40, 7½ games behind the Brewers but still in a wild-card spot if the season ended today. They're 1½ games behind the Cubs for second place in the NL Central.
The Cardinals' hold on that third and final wild-card spot is tenuous, though. They have only a percentage-points lead on Miami (49-42) and are virtually tied in the standings.
The Brewers have an all-star snub, but so does St. Louis
Brewers fans have a rightful gripe about second baseman Brice Turang getting snubbed from the all-star team, but the Cardinals have their own bone to pick over a second baseman.
Rookie JJ Wetherholt leads the team in WAR (4.2) according to Baseball Reference, with a .780 OPS, 13 homers and nine steals, in addition to strong defense. He's ranked top five among all individual fielders in "defensive runs saved" this year.
Outfielder Jordan Walker, who did make the all-star team, leads the National League with 67 RBIs and has 20 homers in his breakout season.
McGreevy might not be a name that immediately jumps to mind when you think of the best starters in the league, but he has a 3.12 ERA over 17 starts even though he's not a big strikeout guy (60 in 95 innings).
May had a complete-game one-hitter against San Diego on June 15, but his last two starts have been disasters. He allowed six runs in just two innings June 21 against Kansas City and then five runs without making it through the first against Atlanta on July 2.
Turang, by the way, has a .962 OPS over his eight-game hitting streak heading into the series.
What's the Brewers' record against the Cardinals this year?
The Brewers have gone 4-1 against St. Louis in 2026. They split games in St. Louis in early May – the series that was shortened by one game because of rain, moved to this week instead – and Milwaukee swept a series at American Family Field on May 25-27.
If Milwaukee wins the five-game series, it'll secure the season-long tiebreaker against the Cardinals, should that come into play.
Are any of the Brewers-Cardinals games on streaming services?
Rejoice! After needing four services to watch every Brewers game last week – Brewers.TV, Apple TV, ESPN and Peacock – rest assured that all five games in this series will air on Brewers.TV.
We can't make the same promise for the Pirates series. The Sunday finale before the all-star break will air on Peacock.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Why the Brewers are playing five games in St. Louis vs Cardinals
Continue reading...
