The Milwaukee Brewers are set to head to St. Louis for the first time this year, as they’ll take on the struggling St. Louis Cardinals. The Brewers dropped three of four in San Francisco to the Giants in what was an unconventionally sloppy week for the Crew’s defense. On the other side, St. Louis is coming off a series loss to the Braves, and they’ve lost six of their last seven as they now sit at 10-15 on the year, currently tied with Pittsburgh for last place in the NL Central.
After the return of Tobias Myers for his season debut on Thursday, the Brewers now have just a few pitchers on the injured list. Brandon Woodruff and Aaron Ashby could both be activated in the next three-ish weeks, while the timeline for DL Hall, Aaron Civale, Nestor Cortes, Connor Thomas, and Robert Gasser is less clear at this point. Among position players, Blake Perkins and Tyler Black are the only injuries, with both aiming for a May return.
The Cardinals have mostly stayed healthy this season, with Masyn Winn having returned from an IL stint during their series in Atlanta. Catcher Iván Herrera, who got off to a scalding start, is out until mid-May with a bone bruise on his knee, and Brendan Donovan is currently considered day-to-day after having a rib head pop out of place (big ouch). While the rib was put back into place, he’s missed the last couple of games with lingering soreness, though no IL stint is expected.
Jackson Chourio, who was red-hot a few weeks ago, is suddenly ice-cold and leads the team with 29 strikeouts while walking just twice and picking up 27 hits. Christian Yelich has turned things around as of late, hitting .216/.333/.420 while tying Chourio for the team lead with five homers. Brice Turang (.346 BA) and Sal Frelick (.312 BA) are still setting the pace offensively, but Rhys Hoskins has also looked solid recently, now hitting .286/.393/.443 this year. As a team, the Brewers are hitting .245/.320/.377, and their .697 OPS ranks 18th in the league. They’ve homered 25 times, scored 132 runs, and stolen 36 bases, behind only the Cubs for the league lead.
Despite playing in just seven games this year, Herrera is still tied with Lars Nootbaar for the team lead with four homers this year. Brendan Donovan leads the Cards in most other categories, as he’s hitting .356/.392/.533 with 32 hits, seven doubles, three homers, 13 RBIs, 14 runs, and three steals this year. Nolan Arenado is hitting .267/.370/.430 with a pair of homers, and Willson Contreras has started to heat up after a slow start, hitting .200/.269/.305 with two homers, nine RBIs, and 10 runs. St. Louis also heavily features some young players like Jordan Walker, Victor Scott, Masyn Winn, and Pedro Pagés, who has taken over as the primary catcher. As a team, the Redbirds are hitting .264/.335/.403 (.738 OPS ranks fifth) with 23 homers and 120 runs scored this year. Their 21 stolen bases also rank tied for 13th in the league.
Abner Uribe, Nick Mears, Jared Koenig, and Trevor Megill lead the Milwaukee bullpen, with Tyler Alexander managing long-relief duties and Grant Anderson also getting some high-leverage innings. Uribe has a 2.53 ERA through 10 2⁄3 frames with 11 strikeouts, while Anderson leads the ‘pen with 14 1⁄3 innings pitched and 15 strikeouts. As a staff, the Brewers rotation has a 3.47 ERA (fifth) and a bullpen ERA of 5.23 (27th). Their overall 4.23 ERA ranks 20th, and they’ve struck out 211 in 227 2⁄3 innings, ranking 14th.
The St. Louis bullpen is led by Kyle Leahy, Phil Maton, and Ryan Helsley. Leahy has made 13 appearances and spanned 15 2⁄3 innings with a 1.72 ERA and 16 strikeouts. Maton, who was virtually perfect until a really rough outing against the Braves, still has a 3.09 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 11 2⁄3 innings. Helsley, the closer, is 3-for-4 in save opportunities, allowing two runs and striking out 10 in eight innings. The bullpen also features a few strugglers in Ryan Fernandez, JoJo Romero, and John King. Steven Matz is their length arm and has made one start this season as well. As a staff, the Cardinals boast a 3.89 starter ERA (13th) and a 5.11 reliever ERA (25th). Their 4.37 ERA ranks 23rd, and their 175 strikeouts rank 27th.
Probable Pitchers
Friday, April 25 @ 7:15 p.m.: Chad Patrick (2.11 ERA, 4.25 FIP) vs. Matthew Liberatore (3.60 ERA, 1.87 FIP)
Patrick suffered the first loss of his career on Saturday against the A’s, though it was arguably his best start of the season. While he allowed two runs on seven hits, he allowed no walks and struck out a career-high seven. Through five career appearances (four starts), Patrick has compiled 0.8 bWAR, allowing five runs on 19 hits and nine walks with 20 strikeouts across 21 1⁄3 innings.
Liberatore, a former first-round pick by the Rays, was a top prospect for the Cardinals for a few years but hasn’t panned out in the majors to this point. After 60 appearances (six starts) with a 4.40 ERA last season, he’s transitioned into a piece of St. Louis’ rotation this year, making four starts with a 3.60 ERA and 24 strikeouts across 25 frames. He’s gone at least six innings in all four of his starts, and his last start was his longest of the season at 6 2⁄3 innings, allowing two runs and striking out six against the Mets. In nine career appearances (two starts) against the Brewers, Liberatore has a sterling 1.02 ERA with 21 strikeouts across 17 2⁄3 innings.
Saturday, April 26 @ 1:15 p.m.: Quinn Priester (1.93 ERA, 4.31 FIP) vs. Sonny Gray (3.41 ERA, 3.89 FIP)
Through three starts with the Brewers, Priester is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA, allowing three runs and striking out 11 across 14 innings. His last start was the worst of his short Brewers’ tenure, as he allowed two runs on four hits and four walks over four-plus innings against the Giants. Despite having played for the Pirates for parts of two seasons, this is Priester’s first career appearance against St. Louis.
The 35-year-old Gray is now in his 13th season in the majors and his second with the Cardinals. In five starts this season, Gray has spanned 29 innings with 29 strikeouts. He went six frames against the Mets in his last appearance, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk with six strikeouts over six innings in a no-decision. In 16 career starts against Milwaukee, Gray is 4-5 with a 3.15 ERA and 116 strikeouts across 88 2⁄3 innings.
Sunday, April 27 @ 1:15 p.m.: Jose Quintana (0.96 ERA, 3.56 FIP) vs. Erick Fedde (3.33 ERA, 5.06 FIP)
Quintana, like Patrick and Priester, has been solid in a Brewers uniform so far. In three starts against the D-backs, Tigers, and Giants, he’s allowed a total of three runs on 14 hits and five walks with nine strikeouts over 18 2⁄3 innings. He’s also picked up a win in all three appearances. The former Cardinal has faced off against his former team 14 times in his career, with a 6-4 record, 3.95 ERA, and 66 strikeouts across 73 innings.
Fedde, 32, is now in his second season after playing in Korea for the 2023 season. Acquired from the White Sox at last year’s deadline, he’s 1-2 with a 3.33 ERA and 13 strikeouts across 27 innings in 2025. Outside of a very bad start against the Red Sox in early April (six ER over 3 IP), Fedde has allowed just four earned runs over 24 innings in his other four starts. His last time out against the Braves, he allowed two runs and struck out three over six frames. In six career appearances (five starts) against Milwaukee, he’s 2-2 with a 4.82 ERA and 21 strikeouts over 28 innings.
How to Watch
Friday, April 25: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Saturday, April 26: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Sunday, April 27: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Prediction
The Cardinals are on the struggle bus lately, but they’ve seemingly always caused issues for the Brewers. I still think a getting-healthier Brewers team is better, though, so I’ll take the Crew to win two of three in the second leg of their 10-game road trip.
