Milwaukee @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 13, 2019 ) Milwaukee 0, St. Louis 10

Much of Paul Goldschmidt's first season with the St. Louis Cardinals has been considered a disappointment, but he's been anything but when he's faced the Milwaukee Brewers. Coming off one of the most explosive offensive outbursts of his career, the six-time All-Star looks to help the Cardinals continue their push toward a National League Central crown on Saturday, when they host the Brewers for the middle contest of their three-game series.

A career .297 hitter in his first eight years in the majors with Arizona, Goldschmidt entered Friday batting .261 for the season and without a home run in 17 games. He heated up quickly in the series opener, setting a career high with seven RBIs as he belted a grand slam in the third inning and a three-run shot in the eighth as St. Louis cruised to a 10-0 victory to lift his numbers against the Brewers in 2019 to .318 with eight homers and 20 RBIs. Milwaukee had its seven-game winning streak snapped as it fell five games behind first-place St. Louis in the Central and one back of the Chicago Cubs for the second wild card. The Brewers managed only two hits on Friday and could be in for another long day against Jack Flaherty, who is limiting the opposition to a .151 batting average over the second half of the season.

TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FS Midwest (St. Louis)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Jordan Lyles (10-8, 4.38 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Jack Flaherty (10-7, 2.99)

After going 5-7 with a 5.36 ERA in 17 starts with Pittsburgh, Lyles is 5-1 with a 2.51 ERA in eight turns with Milwaukee after pitching well for the team in relief late last season. The native of South Carolina saw his three-start winning streak come to an end when he settled for a no-decision Monday in Miami after permitting one run over 4 1/3 innings. Goldschmidt is 12-for-26 with two homers, seven RBIs and six walks versus Lyles, who beat St. Louis on Aug. 28 after yielding one run and registering nine strikeouts in 5 1/3 frames.

Flaherty has been the most dominant pitcher in the majors since the All-Star break, going 6-1 with a 0.76 ERA while holding the opposition scoreless seven times in 11 second-half starts. The 23-year-old produced his sixth scoreless outing over that stretch in Sunday's win at Pittsburgh, allowing five hits and fanning 10 in eight frames. Ryan Braun (7-for-14, three homers) has thrived against Flaherty, whose only loss since July 7 came in Milwaukee on Aug. 28 as he gave up three runs - two earned - over six innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Including their 12-11 win on July 19 that snapped a 46-game streak during which they failed to score 10 runs in a contest, the Cardinals have reached double figures 11 times in their last 51 contests.

2. Milwaukee is 1-6 at Busch Stadium in 2019, with five of the losses coming by at least three runs.

3. St. Louis has won 17 of its last 20 home games.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 5, Brewers 1