Brewers ace Freddy Peralta has fanned 26 and walked two in 17.2 innings, and on Friday he faces a Cardinals lineup that ranks 23rd in OPS (.665) versus right-handed pitching. St. Louis has scored three or fewer runs in five straight games. Milwaukee ranks second in OPS (.815) against right-handers; the Brewers could tee off against Kyle Gibson (6.16 ERA). At 36 years old, it's fair to wonder how much Gibson has left. Back the NL Central leaders on the road.

The Brewers have a big edge in the pitching matchup here with Freddy Peralta on the mound. He's walked just three batters in his last eight starts going back to last year, which has helped him allow just one earned run five times during that stretch. He pitched well in two of his three starts against the Cardinals as well. Kyle Gibson has had trouble keeping the ball in the park with five homers surrendered this year, and the Brewers are tied with the third-most homers on the year. With the Brewers outscoring the Cards by more than two runs per game, they're the clear side for me.

The Milwaukee Brewers take their strong 7-2 road record to St. Louis. Starting pitcher Freddy Peralta in two road starts has allowed just two runs and had a combined nineteen strikeouts. Yet, his worst road start of 2023 was against St. Louis where he gave up six runs. His other road start against the Cardinals a gem outing was spoiled with a 1-0 loss. Grab St. Louis

Love the way this dude is playing ball right now and he is locked in at the plate and this is the kind of starter I think he can do real damage on if he works himself into a fastball count. I expect there to be plenty of ducks on the pound here.

Freddy Peralta has taken to the loss of Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff expertly, looking every bit the Brewers ace. He has put-away stuff and has mowed through some pretty good lineups. Cardinals still a middling offensive team and Kyle Gibson will hope his new sweeper bails him out but love Brewers approach and the damage they are doing with men on base. Love how aggressive Brewers are being on the basepaths as well. Playing with a lot of energy and confidence

Freddy Peralta has gone over 16.5 outs in each start so far and he was over this line in 18/33 starts last year. There were five more starts last year where he came up just one out short of going over 16.5 outs, so he has been around or over this number with regularity. Tomorrow the Brewers have DL Hall starting, the reliever turned starter, and he's struggled to get deep into games, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Brewers try to save a bit of the bullpen here with their ace on the mound. The Cardinals offense hasn't been great and of note, they are bottom-8 in MLB for pitches per plate appearance. A few quick at-bats could be the difference here.