Preview: Brewers at Cardinals

[September 16, 2014]  The Milwaukee Brewers still have time to make up ground in the chase for a postseason slot but they'll have to do it the hard way when they kick off a nine-game road trip at the National League Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night. The Brewers are five games behind St. Louis in the division and trail Pittsburgh by 1 1/2 games for the second wild with 12 to play. Winners of four of five, Milwaukee visits the Pirates for three games following three versus the Cardinals.

"It's there for us if we play good baseball, and the other teams, I'm sure feel the same way," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said of the nine-game trek.

"It's good that we're playing in our division, which I've said before is what it should be like." St. Louis bounced back from losing three straight at Cincinnati by completing a three-game sweep of Colorado and takes a 3 1/2-game lead over Pittsburgh into Tuesday's matchup. The Cardinals are 12-4 in their last 16 and send Lance Lynn to the mound to face 16-game winner Wily Peralta

TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
 

PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Wily Peralta (16-10, 3.75 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Lance Lynn (15-9, 2.73)

Peralta, who will be making his fifth start against St. Louis this season, ended a three-start losing streak by limiting Miami to one run and five hits over 6 2/3 innings. He lost to the Cardinals in his previous turn despite six innings of three-run ball to end a four-start winning streak against them, including 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball at St. Louis on Aug. 1. Matt Carpenter and Matt Holliday are each 8-for-18 versus Peralta.

Lynn pitched superbly in his last outing but it went for naught in a 1-0 loss at Cincinnati, ending his unbeaten streak at seven starts. Lynn has not allowed more than three runs in 13 consecutive starts and has held the opposition to one earned run or fewer eight times during that stretch. He is 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA in three starts against Milwaukee this season, but has had trouble solving both Gerardo Parra (7-for-14) and Jean Segura (7-for-15).

WALK-OFFS

1. St. Louis has won eight in a row at home, its longest streak since running off eight straight in July 2010.

2. Brewers 1B Matt Clark, a September callup, has homered in his last three games.

3. Cardinals LF Holliday needs two homers to reach 20 for the ninth consecutive season.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 3, Brewers 2

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