NewsBrewers brace for Central showdown
Milwaukee (43-39) vs. St. Louis (45-39), 7:05 p.m. CT
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com
07/05/09 8:00 PM ET
CHICAGO -- First place will be on the line when the Cardinals and Brewers meet at Miller Park beginning Tuesday in a clash of National League Central rivals. The Cardinals enter the series with a one-game lead over the second-place Brewers, who have lost four of their past five games and will try to rebound from a series loss in Chicago over the holiday weekend. The National League West-leading Dodgers will follow in Milwaukee's final homestand before the All-Star break, and Ryan Braun thinks it's a big week for the Brewers. "It's crucial," said Braun, who along with Prince Fielder was named to the NL All-Star team on Sunday. "We don't want to dig ourselves too big of a hole. It's always important to have some momentum going into the second half to show everybody that we're for real and that we can make a move and improve our ballclub. We need to be headed in the right direction and not the wrong direction in order to do that." The rest of the NL Central pack isn't far behind the Cardinals and Brewers. Entering Sunday, just six games separated first and last place in the six-team division. "I don't think people are giving our division as much respect as they should," Brewers manager Ken Macha said. "The Cubs have been banged up. The Cardinals have been banged up. We've got a couple of guys out of our rotation and we lost Rickie Weeks. ... Cincinnati missed [Joey] Votto for a while. Houston has a powerful lineup. "It's all balanced. I don't think the division is as respected as it should be, because of the balance." For the Brewers, the St. Louis series continues a stretch in which they play 11 of 14 games against division rivals. They are 22-13 (.591) against division foes after Sunday's loss to the Cubs. Macha referred to the upcoming homestand as a "battle." Fielder displayed his typical nonchalance. "It's important, but it's still a long season," he said. "Hopefully, we can come out all right, but if not, that's just the way it is. I don't want to put too much pressure on the situation. It's early. We have a long way to go."
Pitching matchup
MIL: RHP Yovani Gallardo (8-5, 2.75 ERA)
Gallardo took another tough-luck loss against the Mets on Wednesday after allowing only one run in seven quality innings while setting a career high with 12 strikeouts. His previous best was 11 whiffs on April 29 against the Pirates, another 1-0 game, in which Gallardo provided the lone run with a solo homer. Gallardo had one start against the Cardinals rained out in the second inning in St. Louis, then pitched eight scoreless innings on May 25 at Miller Park against the Cards, yielding just two hits. He settled for a no-decision in a game the Brewers won, 1-0, in 10 innings.
Wainwright tossed a season-high 122 pitches on Wednesday night, giving up one run and leaving to a 1-1 tie after nine innings. The Cardinals eventually won the game in the 10th on a Colby Rasmus walk-off home run, but Wainwright was the story of the night. He looked his best as the game went on, striking out a career-high 12 batters, seven of which came in the seventh inning or later. He got out of a bases loaded no-out jam in the eighth after allowing only one run and then struck out the side in the ninth. He has found a new arm slot, and it appears that he has returned to his ace-like form of 2008. Tidbits
Rehabbing righty Dave Bush (triceps) threw off a mound at Wrigley Field on Sunday for the first time since going to the disabled list. He'll do it again on Tuesday at Miller Park. Sunday's session was 8-10 pitches short of Bush's usual between-starts bullpen routine, but he said he was "really encouraged" by how he felt. Bush is tentatively scheduled to make a Minor League rehabilitation start on July 15 at Double-A Huntsville, and Macha indicated that the team would probably stick to that plan. The Brewers do need one more starter before the All-Star break. "We try to take the cautious route, so that's still where we're going," Macha said. ... Macha indicated that Jeff Suppan will probably start Game 2 of the series on Wednesday, but he wasn't sure of his starting pitcher for Thursday's series finale. The Brewers will need to bring in a starter for either Thursday against the Cardinals or Friday or Saturday against the Dodgers. Left-hander Manny Parra is an option if the team promotes from within. "We're going to sit down on Tuesday and talk about it," Macha said. "I've done a little research, and Doug [Melvin, the GM] has done the same research. You always like to get whatever you think is most advantageous for your club." ... Macha told Braun and Fielder that they had made the All-Star squad during a team meeting before batting practice on Sunday. ... Bench coach Willie Randolph was to celebrate his 55th birthday on Monday, an off-day for the Brewers. Tickets
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• Wednesday: Brewers (Jeff Suppan, 5-6, 4.60) vs. Cardinals (Todd Wellemeyer, 7-7, 5.44), 7:05 p.m. CT
• Thursday: Brewers (TBD) vs. Cardinals (Joel Pineiro, 6-9, 3.39), 1:05 p.m. CT
• Friday: Brewers (TBD) vs. Dodgers (TBD), 7:05 p.m. CT
Adam McCalvy is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
