Milwaukee @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 24, 2018 ) St. Louis 8, Milwaukee 2

Both the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals lost ground in the National League Central race Thursday and will try to bounce back when they begin a three-game series at Busch Stadium on Friday. The idle Brewers dropped 3 1/2 games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs while the Cardinals fell 5-4 to Washington on Thursday to sink five games back.

The loss snapped St. Louis' eight-game winning streak and it was the club's first setback at home since July 31. Milwaukee hopes to have slugger Ryan Braun - who homered twice in Tuesday's 7-0 win at Chicago - back in the lineup after he was pulled from Wednesday's loss to the Cubs due to rib cage tightness. He has a hit in three career at-bats against Jack Flaherty, who starts the series opener for the Cardinals opposite rookie Freddy Peralta. The Brewers are 2-3 thus far on their eight-game road trip but still hold down one of the two NL wild-card spots, 1 1/2 games up on St. Louis.

TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, FS Wisconsin, Dish455 (Milwaukee), FS Midwest (St. Louis)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Freddy Peralta (5-3, 4.47 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Jack Flaherty (6-6, 3.22)

Peralta has given up seven runs in two of his last four starts and did so in just three innings in an ugly outing at Atlanta last Friday. He walked five batters in that outing and has 33 in his first 56 1/3 innings. The 22-year-old is facing the Cardinals for the first time and has a 5.17 ERA on the road.

Flaherty is 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in August while limiting two opponents to six hits in 13 innings. He struck out 13 batters - tying a career high - while allowing only a solo homer in seven frames in a no-decision versus the Brewers on June 22. Jesus Aguilar has a home run and a single in five at-bats versus Flaherty, who is winless despite a 3.18 ERA in three career starts against Milwaukee.

WALK-OFFS

1. Cardinals CF Harrison Bader is 5-for-7 with a home run and a double over his last two games and has scored at least one run in eight consecutive contests.

2. Brewers 3B Mike Moustakas is 8-for-20 with four RBIs during a five-game hitting streak.

3. St. Louis 1B Matt Carpenter has reached base in 33 straight games, although he is hitless in his last three contests while drawing four walks.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 6, Brewers 4