MLB Game Preview - St. Louis at Milwaukee

Tue Aug 27, 2019 7:40 PM EDT

The last time the St. Louis Cardinals lost a game, Milwaukee Brewers rookie Adrian Houser got the win.

The right-hander will attempt to repeat the feat and snap the Cardinals' five-game winning streak when he faces St. Louis on Wednesday in Milwaukee.

The Cardinals cruised to a 12-2 win on Monday in the opener of a three-game series, their eighth win in nine games and their 14th victory in 17 games.

The third-place Brewers fell 5 1/2 games back of the first-place Cardinals in the National League Central. The second-place Chicago Cubs, who were idle Monday, are three games back in the division race.

The Cardinals moved 14 games over .500 for the first time this season. They have outscored the opposition by a combined 43-14 score during their winning streak.

Meanwhile, the Brewers have lost five of their past eight games as they head into a difficult stretch of schedule.

"More than anything, it's going to be a tough 12 games when you go St. Louis, Chicago, Houston, Chicago," Brewers slugger Ryan Braun told reporters. "All three teams are playing really well, all three teams are really good, obviously we have to be at our best to put ourselves in position to win the majority of those games. If we're able to do that, I like our chances. I like the way it sets up after those 12 games."

After Sept. 8, the Brewers have three games left with the Cardinals, but the rest of their games are against also-rans: the Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies.

"We'll have a pretty good idea of how the rest of this year is going to go after these next few series," Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich said.

The Brewers hope to head in the right direction behind Houser (6-5, 3.62 ERA), who handled the Cardinals on Wednesday in St. Louis. He allowed three runs (one earned) on six hits in 5 1/3 innings, with two walks and six strikeouts in Milwaukee's 5-3 victory.

Houser has allowed just three earned runs in his past three starts, a span of 18 1/3 innings. He is 1-1 with a 5.79 ERA in two starts against the Cardinals this season and 1-1 with a 4.38 ERA in four career appearances (two starts) against them.

The Cardinals will counter with Miles Mikolas, who has allowed five earned runs in each of his past three starts.

Mikolas (7-13, 4.43 ERA) lost his only start against the Brewers this season, a 5-4 defeat on Opening Day in Milwaukee. He is 3-1 with a 4.55 ERA in six career appearances vs. the Brewers, including five starts.

The defense behind Mikolas will be different than in his recent outings. With second baseman Kolten Wong sidelined due to a bruised toe, slumping Matt Carpenter is drawing starts at third base again with hot-hitting rookie Tommy Edman sliding over to second base.

Carpenter went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs Sunday, then went hitless with one walk in five plate appearances Monday. Edman had his second consecutive three-hit game Monday, making him 10-for-22 (.455) in the past five games.

The recovering Wong could bump Carpenter back out of the lineup later this week.

"My mindset now is helping us win games, however that looks," Carpenter told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "We're playing very well. We've got everything you could want -- good bullpen, good starting pitching, good bench, good starters, guys who are fighting for playing time at pretty much every spot. It's fun to be on a team like that."

The Brewers likely will be without third baseman Mike Moustakas, who exited the Monday night game with a sore left palm and wrist. He was hurt while attempting to field Harrison Bader's hard smash in the second inning, then left before the third inning.

X-rays were negative, but manager Craig Counsell said Moustakas probably will get at least one day off.

--Field Level Media