St. Louis @ Milwaukee preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 4, 2014 ) St. Louis 3, Milwaukee 2

Division rivals heading in opposite directions continue their showdown Friday as the struggling Milwaukee Brewers host the streaking St. Louis Cardinals in the second contest of their four-game series. Milwaukee came up short in the opener, dropping a 3-2 decision for its ninth consecutive loss. Rickie Weeks belted a pinch-hit solo homer and Jonathan Lucroy recorded two hits and an RBI as the Brewers fell four games behind first-place St. Louis in the National League Central and into a tie with Atlanta for the second wild-card spot.

Yadier Molina registered two RBIs while Matt Carpenter and Matt Holliday each collected three hits and scored a run as the Cardinals posted their season-high sixth straight victory. St. Louis trailed Milwaukee by 1 1/2 games for the division lead on Aug. 26 before the tides turned for both clubs. The Brewers hope the return of Ryan Braun will help change their fortunes as the slugger missed the team's last two games due to the birth of his daughter.

TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH John Lackey (13-8, 3.74 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Mike Fiers (4-2, 1.93)

Lackey escaped with a no-decision against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday after surrendering five runs - two earned - and nine hits over 6 1/3 innings. The 35-year-old is 2-1 with a 4.23 ERA in six starts since being acquired from Boston, allowing more than two earned runs only once. Lackey improved to 2-0 in two career outings against Milwaukee on Aug. 3, when he gave up two runs over seven frames in his debut with St. Louis.

Fiers had his four-game winning streak snapped Saturday despite allowing only three runs and striking out nine over seven innings at San Francisco. The 29-year-old was superb in his first four starts of the season, giving up a total of four runs in 28 frames while registering 32 strikeouts and walking only four. Fiers is 1-0 in four career games - two starts - against the Cardinals, yielding one run and 10 hits with 10 strikeouts in 14 innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. St. Louis RHP Trevor Rosenthal shares the major-league lead in saves (42) with Atlanta's Craig Kimbrel and Kansas City's Greg Holland.

2. Milwaukee CF Carlos Gomez remained out of the starting lineup with sprained left wrist but appeared in the opener as a pinch runner in the seventh inning.

3. Cardinals 1B Matt Adams missed Thursday's game due to a mildly strained left oblique. Xavier Scruggs started in Adams' place and went 0-for-3 in his major-league debut.

PREDICTION: Brewers 3, Cardinals 2