Milwaukee Brewers vs St. Louis Cardinals: Preview, Prediction & Odds - Aug. 18, 2021

by Chuck Sommers

Tuesday, Aug 17, 2021
Game time: 7:45 p.m. ET
Venue: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO
Where to watch: Bally Sports Wisconsin, Bally Sports Midwest

Season-to-date (entering Tuesday)
Brewers: 72-47 (1st place, NL Central)
Cardinals: 61-56 (3rd place, NL Central)

Recent form (entering Tuesday)
Brewers: Won six of seven
Cardinals: Won six in a row

Projected lineup


Brewers:
Kolten Wong (L) 2B
Willy Adames (R) SS
Christian Yelich (L) LF
Eduardo Escobar (S) 3B
Omar Narvaez (L) C
Avisail Garcia (R) RF
Rowdy Tellez (L) 1B
Lorenzo Cain (R) CF
Freddy Peralta (R) P

Cardinals:
Tommy Edman (S) 2B
Paul Goldschmidt (R) 1B
Nolan Arenado (R) 3B
Tyler O'Neill (R) LF
Yadier Molina (R) C
Lars Nootbaar (L) RF
Harrison Bader (R) CF
Edmundo Sosa (R) SS
Jack Flaherty (R) P

Odds at USA Sportsbooks

DraftKings: Brewers -115, Cardinals -105
BetMGM: Brewers -125, Cardinals +105
FanDuel: Brewers -116, Cardinals -102

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Brewers - Cardinals preview


The Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals will continue their three-game series Wednesday with Game 2 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

The Brewers, who lead the National League Central by seven games against the Cincinnati Reds entering Tuesday, are trying to withstand that late-season rush from the Reds, as well as the third-place Cardinals.

St. Louis entered Tuesday’s first game of the three-game set having won six straight games and have drawn closer to the NL Wild Card race. The Cardinals are four games back of the San Diego Padres for the second wild card spot, looking ahead to see the Reds at 1.5 games back.

Freddy Peralta will follow pitcher Corbin Burnes by getting on the mound for Game 2, facing ace Jack Flaherty for St. Louis to round out the starting pitchers. The Cardinals went with veteran Adam Wainwright on Tuesday.

Peralta has a 2.26 ERA in 21 starts, while Flaherty has a stunning WHIP of 0.971 

The matchup will feature the stellar pitching group of the Brewers against the always-dangerous offense from the Cardinals. Third baseman Nolan Arenado has been one of those, boasting a .302 batting average since Aug. 4 and hitting five home runs with 16 RBI.

It may not jump off the page since the Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals to get to that mark, but given the fact August is here, any wins count. And the Brewers can’t afford to look over their shoulder considering how good they’ve been this year.

The Brewers just wrapped up destroying the Chicago Cubs in a four-game sweep, following that with winning two of three against Pittsburgh this past weekend.

Betting trends


The stars align when Peralta is on the mound for the Brewers, and while they’re heavy favorites. When the moneyline is -125 to -175 and Peralta gets the call, the Brewers are 7-1 (+5.8). Overall, the Brewers are 15-6 when one of their top pitchers goes out there. Especially on the road; Milwaukee is 8-2 when Peralta starts.

But this pitching matchup is going to be one of the best of the year, given Flaherty’s return from IL and already off to a strong start. The Cardinals are 10-2 (+5.3) when he starts, and 6-1 when the line is between +125 and -125.

Prediction


We’ve loved the Brewers a ton on this site as of late, but given the Cardinals getting healthy at a right time, you want to think they’ll get a win out of this series. The Brewers could show their muscle and likely will for this game, but we have a hunch if the Cardinals keep this stretch of wins going, and with Flaherty on the mound, we like the Cardinals in a shocking victory at home. If not, you can blast us on Twitter later. Cardinals win, 6-0.

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Chuck Sommers

About the Author:

Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.

All photographic images used for editorial content have been licensed from the Associated Press.

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