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Brewers Open Series With Cards

Alex H. MLB News
Wily Peralta will attempt to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday.

Wily Peralta will look to lead the Brewers to victory over the Cardinals on Tuesday.

Looking to stay alive in the hunt for the postseason, the Milwaukee Brewers begin a three-game road series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday.

First pitch at Busch Stadium in St. Louis is scheduled for shortly after 8:00 p.m. ET.

20140915_NL_CentralA 3-16 record between Aug. 20 and Sept. 9 saw Milwaukee (78-72, 37-35 road) plunge from division leader to wild card outsider. To a degree, things have turned around lately, with Ron Roenicke’s side entering Tuesday’s series opener having won four of five and inched closer to the National League’s second wild card berth and possibly avoiding a late-season collapse.

As things stand, the Brewers sit two games in the loss column back of division rivals the Pittsburgh Pirates (79-70) in the wild card standings. The two clubs meet in a head-to-head series in Pittsburgh this weekend, a series that will likely decide which team goes to the postseason. Before then, the Brewers can’t afford to lose.

St. Louis (83-67, 47-28 home) has been the biggest benefactor of Milwaukee’s slumping ways, climbing to the top of the NL Central standings and looking almost a lock to emerge as the division champion. The Cardinals have had a say in their own success though.

Mike Matheny’s club has won 12 of its last 16, dropping just four games so far this month. They enter this week’s series on the back of a three-game sweep of NL cellar dwellers the Colorado Rockies, and with an impeccable intra-division record. The Cards are 40-27 against opponents from within the NL Central, including 10-6 versus Milwaukee.

For St. Louis, anything less than a division title at this point doesn’t bare thinking about. There’s no way Matheny and Co. want to meet the San Francisco Giants in the National League Wild Card Game, which means winning right now is essential.

Pitching matchup

St. Louis will send Lance Lynn (15-9, 2.73 ERA) to the mound in Tuesday’s opener against the Brewers.

Since July 4, Lynn has gone 7-3 with a 1.94 ERA, while the Cardinals are 9-4 with the right-hander on the mound. Last time out, Lynn allowed just one run, which was all the Cincinnati Reds needed to take an intra-division victory. He’ll look to bounce back against the Brewers, a team he’s enjoyed success against both this season and during his career.

  • Lynn is 5-2 with a 2.37 ERA in 13 career games (9 starts) vs. Milwaukee
  • Lynn is 27-11 with a 2.80 ERA in 55 career games (45 starts) at Busch Stadium
  • Lynn is 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA in 3 games (3 starts) vs. Milwaukee this season
  • Lynn is 9-3 with a 2.47ERA in 16 games (16 starts) at Busch Stadium this season

Milwaukee will counter with Wily Peralta (16-10, 3.75 ERA).

After beginning the season 14-6, Peralta has gone 2-4 with a 5.45 ERA over his last six starts. The 25-year-old right-hander allowed just one run in his last start though, and went on to record the victory. He’ll be hoping that was enough to turn the corner. He’ll also be hoping that he can repeat the win he posted in St. Louis back on April 16.

  • Peralta is 4-4 with a 4.60 ERA in 8 career games (8 starts) vs. St. Louis
  • Peralta is 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA in 3 career games (3 starts) at Busch Stadium
  • Peralta is 3-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 4 games (4 starts) vs. St. Louis this season
  • Peralta is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 1 game (1 start) at Busch Stadium this season

Injury report

Milwaukee is without shortstop Jeff Bianchi who has been on the 60-day DL for the past two weeks with an elbow injury.

St. Louis first baseman Matt Adams is listed as day-to-day with an oblique injury.

Matt Adams is listed as day-to-day for the Cardinals.

Matt Adams is listed as day-to-day for the Cardinals.

Betting report

Below you’ll find significant trends and observations relating to this matchup.

Milwaukee Brewers vs. St. Louis Cardinals odds for 09/16/2014

St. Louis (-146) opened as the favorite over Milwaukee (+136) on the moneyline, and is as much as a -160 favorite with bookmakers at the time of writing.

St. Louis has won two straight against Milwaukee and five of the last six head-to-head meetings.

Milwaukee has dropped eight straight road games dating back to August 26, but is 3-3 at Busch Stadium this season.

Some other trends to consider:

  • Milwaukee is 50-47 in night games
  • St. Louis is 52-44 in night games
  • Milwaukee is 32-32 vs. NL Central opponents
  • St. Louis is 40-27 vs. NL Central opponents
  • Milwaukee is 57-57 vs. right-handed pitching
  • St. Louis is 64-50 vs. right-handed pitching
  • Milwaukee is 25-29 since the All-Star break
  • St. Louis is 31-23 since the All-Star break
  • Milwaukee is 5-9 since September 1
  • St. Louis is 10-4 since September 1

The total opened at 7.5 but with two solid pitchers taking to the mound, it quickly dropped to 7.

The total has gone over in 11 of the last 13 meetings between the clubs though, as well as five of the last six they’ve played in St. Louis, which means the over might be the smarter bet.

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The series continues on Wednesday (8:15 p.m. ET) and concludes on Thursday (8:15 p.m. ET).

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For a full list of today’s Major League Baseball odds, click here.

For MLB Futures odds, courtesy of Bovada, click here.

For team prop bets, click here.

For player prop bets, click here.

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