Milwaukee opens a three-game road series against St. Louis on Monday evening with the Brewers carrying a 18-15 record and several lineup questions into a matchup that can shift early NL Central footing. The Cardinals enter at 20-14, tied for second, after a six-game win streak ended Sunday.
Andrew Vaughn is expected back with Milwaukee for the first time since Opening Day as he finishes a rehab assignment with Triple-A Nashville, but Jackson Chourio’s return may be delayed after he took a foul ball off his foot and ankle on Saturday night. The Brewers also had Jacob Misiorowski leave Friday night’s win with cramps and scratched Brice Turang with an illness on Sunday, while Christian Yelich has started running and hitting as he works back from a groin strain.
That leaves Milwaukee trying to keep pace in the deepest division in baseball while juggling a roster that has not been stable for long. The Brewers took two of three from both the D-backs and Nationals in their last two series, but they are still sitting in fourth place and have not produced much on the whole, hitting.239/.335/.354 with 22 homers, 172 runs and 38 steals. Tyler Black has been one of the few bright spots, hitting.429 in six games with nine hits, four doubles and seven RBIs in 21 at-bats.
St. Louis has been steadier and healthier. The Cardinals are down only Lars Nootbaar and Matt Pushard on the injured list, a much smaller group than Milwaukee’s, and Nootbaar is tentatively lined up for a rehab assignment around May 10 after surgery on both heels. He is eligible to come off the 60-day injured list on May 24. Pushard is with Triple-A Memphis while working back from right knee tendinitis.
Jordan Walker has been the Cardinals’ force at the plate, leading the club with 10 homers while adding 27 RBIs, 27 runs and six steals. He is hitting.307/.373/.591, production that has helped St. Louis stay near the top of the division even after Sunday’s loss stopped its run.
The next test for Milwaukee is how much of its lineup can actually be on the field. Misiorowski was slated to pitch the series finale in St. Louis, though the Brewers still had that spot listed as TBD, and the team’s injuries have turned a three-game trip into a check on depth as much as a division series.
