<p>After taking the first two games of this NL Central affair the Brewers shoot for the sweep when the teams meet for the series finale Thursday night at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals were hoping to make some ground on Milwaukee in this series but instead have lost some. Former Cub Jon Lester takes the pill for the home team here against Brandon Woodruff for the visitors. Who do we like here for our <a class="advblue" href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/free-mlb-picks&quot; title="MLB Betting Predictions">free pick</a>? </p>
<h2>MLB Betting Odds</h2>
<p>Thursday's <a class="advblue" href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/odds&quot; title="MLB Baseball Odds Comparison">baseball betting lines</a> opened Milwaukee at around -185 over St. Louis, with an over/under of 7.5 runs. Early betting action then bumped the Brewers 15 cents, to -200, and that total to eight.</p>
<p>Milwaukee could also be found at around -120 giving the run and a half on the run line.</p>
<h2>Brewers-Cardinals MLB Betting Preview </h2>
<p>Milwaukee grabbed the opener of this series Tuesday night 2-0, then came from behind to take Wednesday's game 6-4 in extra innings. The Brewers trailed 3-0 early Wednesday, tied the game at 3-3 on a Garcia home run in the top of the ninth, then won it with three runs in the top of the tenth.</p>
<p>Milwaukee won Tuesday as a -155 favorite and Wednesday at -120 and covered against the run line both nights.</p>
<p>With Wednesday's win the Brewers are 8-1 over their last nine games. At 74-47 overall Milwaukee leads the NL Central now by 9.5 games over second-place Cincinnati.</p>
<p>With Wednesday's loss St. Louis is still 8-3 over its last 11 games. At 61-58 overall the Cardinals trail Milwaukee by 12 games in the NL Central but they're still only four games behind San Diego in the battle for the second National League wild-card spot.</p>
<p>The Brewers lead the season series with St. Louis five games to three.</p>
<h2>Wednesday's Pitching Match-Up </h2>
<p>Lefty <a class="advblue" href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/pitcherlog/39526&quot; title="Jon Lester Pitching Logs">Lester </a>is just 3/19 on quality starts this season, 0/3 since joining St. Louis in a trade with Washington three weeks ago. Last Saturday he held Kansas City to one run on seven hits through 5 2/3 innings of a 9-4 Cardinals win. But in his two starts previous to that he gave up 11 runs through 10 1/3 innings in a pair of St. Louis losses.</p>
<p>The Nationals played 8-8 with Lester this season and St. Louis is 1-2 with him.</p>
<p>In his one start this season against Milwaukee, while with the Nationals back in May, Lester allowed one run and five hits through four frames of a 6-2 Washington defeat.</p>
<p><a class="advblue" href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/pitcherlog/125810&quot; title="Brandon Woodruff Pitching Stats">Woodruff</a> is a solid 16/23 on quality starts this year. Last Thursday he gave up one run on two hits and three walks through three innings against Chicago before leaving for a pinch-hitter in a 17-4 Brewers victory. And just before that he held San Francisco to one run through six innings, although Milwaukee lost that game 9-6.</p>
<p>The Brewers are 14-9 with Woodruff this season, and while they're only 1-3 over his last four starts that's not his fault.</p>
<p>Over his last three starts against St. Louis, two last year and one this season, Woodruff allowed five runs – four earned – and 12 hits through 22 2/3 innings, with two walks and 25 strikeouts. Milwaukee won two of those three games.</p>
<h2>Splits With the Sticks </h2>
<p>Milwaukee is batting .237 against left-handed pitching this season, with a .325 team OBP and a .402 team slugging percentage.</p>
<p>St. Louis is slashing .235/.306/.383 against right-handed pitching<br />
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<span style="font-size:16px;"><b><span style="color:#008000;">Get more details:</span></b> <a class="advblue" href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/matchup/1362496">Milwaukee at St. Louis 8/19/21 Game Matchup Stats</a></span>
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<h2>The Bullpens </h2>
<p>The Brewers bullpen owns a 3.72 ERA this season, along with a 1.30 WHIP and a 2.59 K/BB ratio.</p>
<p>The Cardinals pen owns a 4.22 ERA, a 1.38 WHIP and a paltry 1.79 K/BB ratio.</p>
<h2>MLB Betting Trends </h2>
<ul>
<li>The Brewers are a ML-best 42-20 on the road this season.</li>
<li>The Cardinals are 32-27 at home.</li>
<li>The Brewers are 14-11 against left-handed starters this season.</li>
<li>The Cardinals are 46-46 against right-handed starters.</li>
<li>The Brewers are 10-13 as favorites against the run line with Woodruff this season.</li>
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<h2>Totals Report</h2>
<p>Unders are 57-54 in Brewers games this season.</p>
<p>Unders are 58-55 in Cardinals games.</p>
<p>Unders are 31-24 in games played at Busch Stadium this season.</p>