The Brewers face the Cardinals in St Louis, and both have premier starters on the mound. Left handed Eric Lauer (2.16 ERA) starts for the Brewers. Lauer has had a couple of slightly off outings this season, but most have been very high quality. His last start was a 7 inning shutout. He has shown great control, and has struck out 54 batters to date.

The Grand old man, Adam Wainwright starts for St. Louis. Wainwright had a couple of rough outings in April, but has been coming up roses in May. Opposing batters are hitting just .119 this month.

I am favoring the Brewers on Thursday for a couple of reasons. The Brewers are very tough on right-handers and are one of the few teams that has had success vs. Wainwright in the past. While the Cardinals’ hitting stats are huge over their last 10 games, two very high scoring games have skewed those stats. It has been a different story vs. good pitching. The Brewers are not the anemic team of last year, hitting in the middle of the pack or better this year.

My main concern with the Cards is their bullpen. While both starters will likely pitch for length, the Brewers have a huge edge in relief pitching, with a 2.34 ERA over the last 10 games compared to 5.14 for the Cardinals. The Brew crew knows how to finish a game , with 20 saves recorded this season, tops in the MLB. The Cardinals have just half that number. Take the Brewers, an underdog, to steal this one from the Cardinals on Thursday.