Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
MIL	0	2	4	0	0	0	1	0	1	8	11	0
STL	0	0	0	1	0	3	0	0	0	4	5	0

Logan Henderson got the ball for Milwaukee in his return from the injured list, activated Thursday to make his first start back and immediately handed a lineup that's been carving up this Cardinals staff all week (Henderson entered 2-1 with a 3.18 ERA). Andre Pallante took the mound for St. Louis trying to keep the finale from getting away from him — no small task for a guy who's quietly been the Cardinals' most reliable arm all year at 10-5 with a 3.96 ERA, first pitch going off at 6:45 PM CT.

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FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Brewers(58-34)

LWWWW

8

-1.5+138-115o8.5+106

Cardinals(48-43)

WLLLL

4

+1.5-138+113u8.5-108

Best BetBrewers -137

Postgame

Milwaukee cruised to the win as picked, cashing the moneyline pick even with Henderson working back from injury.

Pregame

We backed the Brewers on the moneyline pregame at -129, and the number only got friendlier from there, drifting down to -114 by first pitch. Milwaukee's simply the better team in this series, and the tracked sharp money agreed, stacking onto the Brewers with the single biggest ticket in the group landing on Milwaukee.

Milwaukee's dealing with real rotation attrition right now — Brandon Woodruff is out for a while with a shoulder capsule injury, and the bullpen has been bled by IL trips all season — yet none of it has slowed this club down. St. Louis, meanwhile, was trying to salvage something out of a series it had mostly lost control of, having dropped a doubleheader sweep two days earlier before finally snapping the skid Wednesday. The finale opened with Milwaukee sitting as sizable favorites, and the market only leaned harder that way as the day went on.

Logan Henderson

(4-1)·3.05 ERA

May 22 vs Dodgers

W

5.0IP

0ER

7K

3BB

85P

07/09 Lineup

Andre Pallante

(10-6)·4.02 ERA

Jul 3 @ Cubs

W

5.2IP

0ER

2K

1BB

102P

07/09 Lineup

The game played out about how the form suggested. Milwaukee scratched out a run in the second, then blew it open with a four-run third that put St. Louis in an early hole. The Cardinals clawed back with a three-run sixth to make it interesting for an inning, but Milwaukee answered right back with insurance runs in the seventh and ninth to put it away for good.

Take the series as a whole and it's Milwaukee's story to tell. The Brewers won 4 of the 5 games, including that Tuesday doubleheader sweep where their starters held St. Louis to a combined 7 hits across nearly 15 innings, and they leave Busch Stadium having padded an already-strong NL Central lead. For a Cardinals team that talked after Wednesday's win about it being 'exactly what we needed,' Thursday was a reminder of how far the gap still is between these two clubs right now.

Milwaukee Brewers

(58-34)

Jul 8L@ Cardinals1-5

Jul 7W@ Cardinals10-2

Jul 7W@ Cardinals4-3

Jul 6W@ Cardinals4-3

Jul 5W@ Diamondbacks3-2

St. Louis Cardinals

(48-43)

Jul 8Wvs Brewers5-1

Jul 7Lvs Brewers2-10

Jul 7Lvs Brewers3-4

Jul 6Lvs Brewers3-4

Jul 5L@ Cubs4-6

Henderson's return is worth watching going forward — a back-issue rehab stint means Milwaukee will likely manage his workload for a few more turns before turning him loose. Pallante's stumble doesn't erase what's been a genuine breakout season for him; he'd allowed zero earned runs in two of his last three starts before Thursday, and a Cardinals team fighting to stay in the Wild Card mix needs him to keep pitching like that.

Milwaukee Brewers

(12)

• Day-To-DayKyle Harrison (SP) — Harrison said after Wednesday's loss to the Cardinals that he has been dealing with soreness on the outside of his elbow over the past few weeks, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.07/09
• 10-Day-ILDavid Hamilton (3B) — The Brewers placed Hamilton on the 10-day injured list Tuesday due to a strained left hamstring.07/07
• 15-Day-ILBrandon Woodruff (SP) — Medical imaging revealed an injury to Woodruff's right anterior shoulder capsule Wednesday, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.07/08
• 15-Day-ILJoel Kuhnel (RP) — The Brewers placed Kuhnel on the 15-day injured list Saturday, retroactive to July 3, due to a right shoulder injury.07/04
• 15-Day-ILRob Zastryzny (RP) — Zastryzny (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment with the Brewers' rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiliate Friday, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.07/03
• 15-Day-ILCarlos Rodriguez (RP) — Rodriguez (shoulder) struck out a batter and allowed three earned runs on two hits and one walk across 1.1 innings Wednesday in a rehab start for the Brewers' rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiiate.07/02
• 15-Day-ILDL Hall (RP) — Hall (pectoral) has progressed to throwing on flat ground from 60-to-75 feet, Jack Stern of BrewerFanatic.com reports.06/30
• 15-Day-ILColeman Crow (SP) — Crow (forearm) will throw a live batting practice session Tuesday, Jack Stern of BrewerFanatic.com reports.06/30
• 60-Day-ILBrandon Lockridge (LF) — The Brewers transferred Lockridge (knee) to the 60-day injured list Tuesday.07/07
• 60-Day-ILBrian Fitzpatrick (RP) — Fitzpatrick (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery over the past week, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.07/05
• 60-Day-ILQuinn Priester (SP) — Priester will undergo thoracic outlet compression surgery on Monday and is expected to be sidelined 8-to-10 months, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.06/18
• 60-Day-ILAngel Zerpa (RP) — The Brewers transferred Zerpa (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Sunday.05/31

St. Louis Cardinals

(3)

• Day-To-DayRyne Stanek (RP) — Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Wednesday he hopes to avoid using Stanek (ankle) "for maybe two or three days," Amber Winkler of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.07/09
• 60-Day-ILMax Rajcic (RP) — The Cardinals transferred Rajcic (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Tuesday.07/07
• 60-Day-ILRamon Urias (3B) — Urias (elbow) returned to St. Louis to undergo an examination on his left elbow, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.06/12

Milwaukee heads out of St. Louis having taken the season series in convincing fashion, and there's little in either roster right now suggesting that gap closes soon.