The Milwaukee Brewers are set to go to St. Louis for the primary time this 12 months, as they’ll tackle the struggling St. Louis Cardinals. The Brewers dropped three of 4 in San Francisco to the Giants in what was an unconventionally sloppy week for the Crew’s protection. On the opposite facet, St. Louis is coming off a sequence loss to the Braves, they usually’ve misplaced six of their final seven as they now sit at 10-15 on the 12 months, at present tied with Pittsburgh for final place within the NL Central.
After the return of Tobias Myers for his season debut on Thursday, the Brewers now have only a few pitchers on the injured record. Brandon Woodruff and Aaron Ashby may each be activated within the subsequent three-ish weeks, whereas the timeline for DL Corridor, Aaron Civale, Nestor Cortes, Connor Thomas, and Robert Gasser is much less clear at this level. Amongst place gamers, Blake Perkins and Tyler Black are the one accidents, with each aiming for a Could return.
The Cardinals have largely stayed wholesome this season, with Masyn Winn having returned from an IL stint throughout their sequence in Atlanta. Catcher Iván Herrera, who acquired off to a scalding begin, is out till mid-Could with a bone bruise on his knee, and Brendan Donovan is at present thought-about day-to-day after having a rib head pop misplaced (large ouch). Whereas the rib was put again into place, he’s missed the final couple of video games with lingering soreness, although no IL stint is anticipated.
Jackson Chourio, who was red-hot a number of weeks in the past, is instantly ice-cold and leads the workforce with 29 strikeouts whereas strolling simply twice and selecting up 27 hits. Christian Yelich has turned issues round as of late, hitting .216/.333/.420 whereas tying Chourio for the workforce lead with 5 homers. Brice Turang (.346 BA) and Sal Frelick (.312 BA) are nonetheless setting the tempo offensively, however Rhys Hoskins has additionally appeared stable not too long ago, now hitting .286/.393/.443 this 12 months. As a workforce, the Brewers are hitting .245/.320/.377, and their .697 OPS ranks 18th within the league. They’ve homered 25 instances, scored 132 runs, and stolen 36 bases, behind solely the Cubs for the league lead.
Regardless of taking part in in simply seven video games this 12 months, Herrera remains to be tied with Lars Nootbaar for the workforce lead with 4 homers this 12 months. Brendan Donovan leads the Playing cards in most different classes, as he’s hitting .356/.392/.533 with 32 hits, seven doubles, three homers, 13 RBIs, 14 runs, and three steals this 12 months. Nolan Arenado is hitting .267/.370/.430 with a pair of homers, and Willson Contreras has began to warmth up after a sluggish begin, hitting .200/.269/.305 with two homers, 9 RBIs, and 10 runs. St. Louis additionally closely options some younger gamers like Jordan Walker, Victor Scott, Masyn Winn, and Pedro Pagés, who has taken over as the first catcher. As a workforce, the Redbirds are hitting .264/.335/.403 (.738 OPS ranks fifth) with 23 homers and 120 runs scored this 12 months. Their 21 stolen bases additionally rank tied for thirteenth within the league.
Abner Uribe, Nick Mears, Jared Koenig, and Trevor Megill lead the Milwaukee bullpen, with Tyler Alexander managing long-relief duties and Grant Anderson additionally getting some high-leverage innings. Uribe has a 2.53 ERA via 10 2⁄3 frames with 11 strikeouts, whereas Anderson leads the ‘pen with 14 1⁄3 innings pitched and 15 strikeouts. As a workers, the Brewers rotation has a 3.47 ERA (fifth) and a bullpen ERA of 5.23 (twenty seventh). Their total 4.23 ERA ranks twentieth, they usually’ve struck out 211 in 227 2⁄3 innings, rating 14th.
The St. Louis bullpen is led by Kyle Leahy, Phil Maton, and Ryan Helsley. Leahy has made 13 appearances and spanned 15 2⁄3 innings with a 1.72 ERA and 16 strikeouts. Maton, who was just about excellent till a very tough outing towards the Braves, nonetheless has a 3.09 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 11 2⁄3 innings. Helsley, the nearer, is 3-for-4 in save alternatives, permitting two runs and putting out 10 in eight innings. The bullpen additionally options a number of strugglers in Ryan Fernandez, JoJo Romero, and John King. Steven Matz is their size arm and has made one begin this season as effectively. As a workers, the Cardinals boast a 3.89 starter ERA (thirteenth) and a 5.11 reliever ERA (twenty fifth). Their 4.37 ERA ranks twenty third, and their 175 strikeouts rank twenty seventh.
Possible Pitchers
Friday, April 25 @ 7:15 p.m.: Chad Patrick (2.11 ERA, 4.25 FIP) vs. Matthew Liberatore (3.60 ERA, 1.87 FIP)
Patrick suffered the primary lack of his profession on Saturday towards the A’s, although it was arguably his finest begin of the season. Whereas he allowed two runs on seven hits, he allowed no walks and struck out a career-high seven. By way of 5 profession appearances (4 begins), Patrick has compiled 0.8 bWAR, permitting 5 runs on 19 hits and 9 walks with 20 strikeouts throughout 21 1⁄3 innings.
Liberatore, a former first-round decide by the Rays, was a high prospect for the Cardinals for a number of years however hasn’t panned out within the majors up to now. After 60 appearances (six begins) with a 4.40 ERA final season, he’s transitioned into a bit of St. Louis’ rotation this 12 months, making 4 begins with a 3.60 ERA and 24 strikeouts throughout 25 frames. He’s gone no less than six innings in all 4 of his begins, and his final begin was his longest of the season at 6 2⁄3 innings, permitting two runs and putting out six towards the Mets. In 9 profession appearances (two begins) towards the Brewers, Liberatore has a sterling 1.02 ERA with 21 strikeouts throughout 17 2⁄3 innings.
Saturday, April 26 @ 1:15 p.m.: Quinn Priester (1.93 ERA, 4.31 FIP) vs. Sonny Grey (3.41 ERA, 3.89 FIP)
By way of three begins with the Brewers, Priester is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA, permitting three runs and putting out 11 throughout 14 innings. His final begin was the worst of his brief Brewers’ tenure, as he allowed two runs on 4 hits and 4 walks over four-plus innings towards the Giants. Regardless of having performed for the Pirates for elements of two seasons, that is Priester’s first profession look towards St. Louis.
The 35-year-old Grey is now in his thirteenth season within the majors and his second with the Cardinals. In 5 begins this season, Grey has spanned 29 innings with 29 strikeouts. He went six frames towards the Mets in his final look, permitting three runs on six hits and a stroll with six strikeouts over six innings in a no-decision. In 16 profession begins towards Milwaukee, Grey is 4-5 with a 3.15 ERA and 116 strikeouts throughout 88 2⁄3 innings.
Sunday, April 27 @ 1:15 p.m.: Jose Quintana (0.96 ERA, 3.56 FIP) vs. Erick Fedde (3.33 ERA, 5.06 FIP)
Quintana, like Patrick and Priester, has been stable in a Brewers uniform up to now. In three begins towards the D-backs, Tigers, and Giants, he’s allowed a complete of three runs on 14 hits and 5 walks with 9 strikeouts over 18 2⁄3 innings. He’s additionally picked up a win in all three appearances. The previous Cardinal has confronted off towards his former workforce 14 instances in his profession, with a 6-4 document, 3.95 ERA, and 66 strikeouts throughout 73 innings.
Fedde, 32, is now in his second season after taking part in in Korea for the 2023 season. Acquired from the White Sox finally 12 months’s deadline, he’s 1-2 with a 3.33 ERA and 13 strikeouts throughout 27 innings in 2025. Outdoors of a really dangerous begin towards the Crimson Sox in early April (six ER over 3 IP), Fedde has allowed simply 4 earned runs over 24 innings in his different 4 begins. His final day trip towards the Braves, he allowed two runs and struck out three over six frames. In six profession appearances (5 begins) towards Milwaukee, he’s 2-2 with a 4.82 ERA and 21 strikeouts over 28 innings.
The best way to Watch
Friday, April 25: FanDuel Sports activities Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); pay attention through radio on the Brewers Radio Community
Saturday, April 26: FanDuel Sports activities Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); pay attention through radio on the Brewers Radio Community
Sunday, April 27: FanDuel Sports activities Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); pay attention through radio on the Brewers Radio Community
Prediction
The Cardinals are on the battle bus these days, however they’ve seemingly all the time brought on points for the Brewers. I nonetheless suppose a getting-healthier Brewers workforce is healthier, although, so I’ll take the Crew to win two of three within the second leg of their 10-game street journey.
