The St. Louis Cardinals kick off an extended four-game weekend series this Thursday night when they head to Miller Park to face the Central Division rival Milwaukee Brewers. Game 1 is set to get underway at 8:10 p.m. (ET), and it will be available on MLB Extra Innings.

The Cardinals snapped a three-game skid on Tuesday night with a 2-1 victory over Cincinnati as -138 home favorites in the second of a three-game series that ends this Wednesday afternoon. St. Louis is now 6-4 in its last 10 games, and the total has stayed “under” in five of its last eight games.

Milwaukee is 7-3 in its last 10 games after back-to-back wins over Pittsburgh in the first two games of this week’s three-game set. It pounded out a total of 22 runs in those games, and the total has now gone “over” in six of its last eight games.

Cardinals at Brewers Betting Storylines

The last time that St. Louis was on the road this season, it went 6-3, including a three-game sweep of Washington to close out the nine-game trip. It is 9-6 on the road so far as part of an overall record of 15-11 that has it ahead of the Brewers and Pirates by half a game for the lead in the division. The Cardinals owe much of their early success to a pitching staff that is tied with Atlanta atop the National League with an ERA of 3.15. The lineup has been spotty at times with a team batting average of .245 but it has made the most of its production with an average of 4.5 runs a game.

Look for Jake Westbrook to get the start for St. Louis on Thursday night. The right-hander comes into this game with sterling 0.98 ERA through his first four starts of the season. He has allowed only three earned runs in 27.2 innings pitched, and they all came in a rough outing against Philadelphia. Against the Brewers, Westbrook is 2-4 with an ERA of 3.06.

The Brewers continue to win games behind their bats, especially at home, where they are 9-5. Over the course of their last 10 games, they have scored four or more runs eight times. The problem has been that their pitching has allowed a total of 25 runs in their last five games and has an ERA of 4.16 on the year. Milwaukee is ranked fourth in the NL in scoring with 118 runs in 25 games, but it has also given up 113 runs to its opponents.

Wily Peralta is scheduled to be on the mound for Milwaukee in the series opener. The right-hander has been all over the board in his first five starts with a record of 2-1 and a 5.02 ERA. His last time out he earned the win against Los Angeles by holding the Dodgers to three earned runs on six hits through six innings of work. This will be Peralta’s 11th Major League start and his first ever against St. Louis.

Cardinals at Brewers MLB Betting Odds and Trends

Both St. Louis and Milwaukee have been opened by BetOnline at -105 in this even-money matchup with the over/under set at 8.5.

The Cardinals are 5-1 in the first game of their last six series but just 1-6 in Westbrook’s last seven starts. The total has stayed under in four of their last five road games.

The Brewers are 21-8 in their last 29 home games against a team with a winning record and 4-1 in Peralta’s last five starts at home. The total has gone over in 11 of their last 15 games at Miller Park.

Head-to-head in this division matchup, the home team is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings, and the total has gone over in four of the last six games. St. Louis took an early 2-1 edge in this season’s series at home with the total staying under in two of the three games.

Cardinals at Brewers Picks and Betting Predictions

This Milwaukee lineup will be a good test for Westbrook, but look for this game to be decided by each team’s bullpen. The Cardinals pen has already blown a couple of leads this season for Westbrook, who is still looking to notch his 100th career win. Unfortunately, they let him down again as the Brewers strike first blood this series with a win at their home ballpark.

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