Brewers at Cardinals
The National League Central race intensifies Monday in St. Louis, where the first-place Cardinals host the Milwaukee Brewers in the opener of a three-game series. The Cardinals stayed atop the division standings with a 5-4 win in Cincinnati on Sunday to cap a 4-2 road trip.
St. Louis is a percentage point up on the second-place Chicago Cubs and two games ahead of the Brewers, who followed up a wild 15-14 win in 14 innings Saturday in Washington with a 16-8 loss to the Nationals on Sunday. Milwaukee used 10 pitchers in the extra-inning affair and four in the series finale and the staff combined to give up 30 runs and 37 hits with 14 walks over the two games. The club might be hard-pressed to get much length out of Zach Davies, who will come off the injured list to make the start for the Brewers on Monday. St. Louis, which has won four in a row at home, turns to Dakota Hudson.
TV: 7:45 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FS Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Zach Davies (8-5, 3.74 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Dakota Hudson (11-6, 3.82)
Davies was 0-3 with an 11.77 ERA in his last three starts prior to hitting the IL with back spasms. He was 8-2 with a 2.79 mark prior to the rocky stretch, including one start at St. Louis on April 23 in which he allowed two runs over 4 2/3 innings. Matt Carpenter is 11-for-24 with seven extra-base hits against the 26-year-old Davies, who is 2-2 with a 4.64 ERA lifetime versus St. Louis.
Hudson rebounded from a rough stretch to post six scoreless innings in a win at Kansas City on Wednesday. He was 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA over his previous three outings while giving up 19 hits and seven walks in 11 2/3 innings. The Mississippi State product was knocked around for 10 runs (nine earned) in eight frames over two early-season meetings with the Brewers.
WALK-OFFS
1. St. Louis 1B Paul Goldschmidt slugged a two-run homer Sunday and is 5-for-11 with two homers and two doubles over his last three games.
2. Milwaukee optioned RHPs Ray Black and Freddy Peralta to Triple-A San Antonio and recalled RHPs Jay Jackson and Aaron Wilkerson from San Antonio.
3. The Brewers host the Cardinals for three games beginning next Monday.