Milwaukee @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 17, 2015 ) St. Louis 6, Milwaukee 3

After having their way with one struggling National League Central rival, the St. Louis Cardinals look to administer a sound thrashing to another when they open a four-game series versus the visiting Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday. Matt Carpenter, who belted a pair of two-run blasts in St. Louis' 10-2 rout of Cincinnati on Wednesday, is 14-for-31 (.452) with five homers, nine runs scored and eight RBIs in his last eight contests.

Carpenter also played an integral role in the Cardinals' three-game sweep of Milwaukee from Sept. 15-17, going 6-for-9 with two homers and three doubles in the final two contests. Tommy Pham is 14-for-34 (.412) with four blasts and 12 RBIs in his last nine games for St. Louis, which owns a four-game lead over second-place Pittsburgh. While the Cardinals already have secured their franchise-high fifth consecutive postseason appearance and are vying for their third straight division title, one needs to look significantly down the standings to find Milwaukee. The Brewers posted just their second win in 12 contests with a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.

TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, MLBN, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Taylor Jungmann (9-6, 3.31 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Michael Wacha (16-6, 3.08)

Jungmann has struggled mightily in his last three outings but has been fortunate to walk away with just an 0-1 record. The 25-year-old has allowed 16 runs and 19 hits - including five homers - over 14 2/3 innings in that span. Prior to that stretch, Jungmann only had been taken deep three times in his first 16 starts.

After posting a 4-0 mark in six outings, Wacha suffered his second loss in three games on Saturday as he allowed four runs in five innings of a 5-4 setback to the Cubs. He has surrendered six homers in his last four trips to the mound after having been taken deep just 11 times in his previous 24 outings. Wacha owns a 1-0 career record in three appearances versus Milwaukee, but his 6.10 ERA and 1.74 WHIP leave plenty to be desired.

WALK-OFFS

1. St. Louis LF Randal Grichuk, who homered on Wednesday, is just 2-for-12 with five strikeouts this month.

2. Milwaukee RHP Wily Peralta will miss the remainder of the season after his oblique injury "flared up again," according to manager Craig Counsell.

3. The Cardinals have won 11 of their 15 meetings with the Brewers in 2015.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 4, Brewers 1