NL CENTRAL STANDINGS

TeamW-LGBStrk
Cubs22-12-W5
Cardinals20-142.0L1
Reds20-142.0L3
Brewers18-153.5L1
Pirates19-163.5W3

RECENT RESULTS (LAST 10)

DateOppH/AResult
May 3LADHomeL 1-4
May 2LADHomeW 3-2
May 1LADHomeW 7-2
Apr 30PITAwayW 10-5
Apr 29PITAwayW 5-4
Apr 28PITAwayW 11-7
Apr 27PITAwayW 4-2
Apr 26SEAHomeL 2-3
Apr 25SEAHomeL 9-11
Apr 24SEAHomeL 2-3

STARTING PITCHERS

Kyle Leahy (R) -- Cardinals

2026 to date: 3-3, 5.52 ERA, 1.67 WHIP across 29.1 IP and 6 starts. 22 K / 11 BB (16.4% K%, 8.2% BB%); 6 HR allowed; 63.3% GB%. The walk rate is up and the ERA reflects it. 2025 baseline: 22.0% K%, 7.7% BB%, 2.86 K/BB ratio over 88.0 IP -- much sharper command.

Home/road split is the lever: 2.68 ERA on the road versus 4.47 at home (career). Tonight is a home start.

Chad Patrick (R) -- Brewers

2026 to date: 2-1, 2.57 ERA, 1.25 WHIP across 28.0 IP and 4 starts. 16 K / 13 BB (14.0% K%, 11.4% BB%) -- ERA holds despite an elevated walk rate. 39.7% GB%; 2 HR allowed. 2025 baseline: 25.2% K%, 8.0% BB%, 3.18 K/BB ratio over 119.2 IP -- cleaner profile last year.

Patrick's 2025 TTO line collapses third pass through the order: .855 OPS in 75 PA, versus .625 first pass and .530 second pass.

EXPECTED LINEUPS

Cardinals (Projected from 2026-05-03)

#PlayerPosBats2026 RISP AVG2026 RISP OPS
1Wetherholt2BL.240.684
2HerreraDHR.250.805
3Burleson1BL.3811.045
4WalkerRFR.268.879
5Gorman3BL.237.684
6WinnSSR.214.574
7ChurchLFL.235.564
8PagésCR.182.526
9ScottCFL.100.308

Handedness: 4 RHB (Herrera, Walker, Winn, Pagés), 5 LHB (Wetherholt, Burleson, Gorman, Church, Scott).

Brewers (From active roster)

13 players listed from active roster pool. Actual game lineup will be 9 from this group.

PlayerPosBats
PerkinsLFS
LockridgeLFR
Turang2BL
Hamilton3BL
MitchellCFL
SánchezCR
JonesLFS
Bauers1BL
OrtizSSR
Rengifo3BS
FrelickRFL
Black3BL
ContrerasCR

Handedness: 4 RHB (Lockridge, Sánchez, Ortiz, Contreras), 6 LHB (Turang, Hamilton, Mitchell, Bauers, Frelick, Black).

INJURIES & ROSTER NOTES

Injury and roster-move detail is not tracked in the Phase 1 JSON. Active roster pulls from statsapi: Cardinals 26 players, Brewers 26 players. Cardinals lineup is projected from 2026-05-03; Brewers shown as roster-only (no batting order confirmed at publish time).

2A: BVP -- CARDINALS BATTERS VS OPPONENT STARTER

PlayerPAABHAVGOBPSLGHRBBK
Pedro Pagés441.250.250.250000
Jordan Walker441.250.250.250001
Ivan Herrera331.333.333.333001
Nolan Gorman430.000.000.000001
Victor Scott431.333.333.333001
Alec Burleson221.500.500.500000
Masyn Winn221.500.500.500001
Nathan Church110.000.000.000000

Small sample: Pedro Pagés (4 PA), Jordan Walker (4 PA), Ivan Herrera (3 PA), Nolan Gorman (4 PA), Victor Scott (4 PA), Alec Burleson (2 PA), Masyn Winn (2 PA), Nathan Church (1 PA).

Career BvP samples vs Patrick are uniformly small (1-4 PA). No batter clears the 10 PA danger threshold. Burleson and Winn are 1-for-2 each, Herrera and Scott carry .333 lines on 1-of-3, Pages and Walker each 1-for-4. Wetherholt has no career data on Patrick.

Bench note: No significant bench BvP history vs Patrick (Urias, Saggese, Pozo, Fermin all unsampled).

2B: BVP -- OPPONENT BATTERS VS CARDINALS STARTER

PlayerPAABHAVGOBPSLGHRBBK
Joey Ortiz551.200.200.200000
Sal Frelick441.250.250.250002
Brice Turang540.000.200.000011
Jake Bauers441.250.250.250000
William Contreras541.250.400.250010
Blake Perkins110.000.000.000001
Garrett Mitchell110.000.000.000000
Gary Sanchez110.000.000.000000

Small sample: Joey Ortiz (5 PA), Sal Frelick (4 PA), Brice Turang (5 PA), Jake Bauers (4 PA), William Contreras (5 PA), Blake Perkins (1 PA), Garrett Mitchell (1 PA), Gary Sanchez (1 PA).

All eight Brewers samples are under the 10 PA danger threshold. Ortiz and Contreras lead at 5 PA each; Contreras' .400 OBP on a walk is the only on-base notable. Turang is 0-for-4 with one walk and a strikeout. Frelick has 2 K in 4 PA -- the only multi-K trace. The lineup is essentially facing Leahy blind.

Bench note: No career BvP history off Leahy for Black, Hamilton, Jones, Lockridge, or Rengifo.

2C: PLATOON SPLITS -- CARDINALS

PlayerPAAVGOBPSLGHRBBK
Alec Burleson L419.296.353.478153259
Masyn Winn R374.251.309.36872371
Victor Scott L332.221.310.31753175
Ivan Herrera R328.268.343.399102466
Nolan Gorman L309.201.294.349937111
Jordan Walker R289.200.263.29142194
Pedro Pagés R276.225.264.36491272
Nathan Church L51.114.216.1821314

Patrick is RHP, so the relevant column is 2025 vs RHP. Burleson stands out: .296/.353/.478 with 15 HR over 419 PA -- the lineup's best stick against right-handers. Herrera (.268/.343/.399) and Winn (.251/.309/.368) carry above-average lines. Walker's 2025 vs RHP line of .200/.263/.291 (94 K in 289 PA) and Gorman's .201/.294/.349 (111 K in 309 PA) are the lineup's strikeout-prone ends. Church's 51 PA sample is too small to project but the .114 line is the floor.

2C: PLATOON SPLITS -- OPPONENT

PlayerPAAVGOBPSLGHRBBK
William Contreras R502.263.349.409145992
Brice Turang L489.274.352.4471653117
Sal Frelick L442.278.342.421123859
Luis Rengifo B440.241.296.32563084
Joey Ortiz R380.203.261.27252657
Jake Bauers L214.244.360.42883156
David Hamilton L174.203.263.35461341
Blake Perkins B130.203.277.30511138
Brandon Lockridge R77.246.289.2750419
Gary Sanchez R59.245.322.4914216
Garrett Mitchell L54.208.278.3330521
Tyler Black L13.250.538.375051
Greg Jones B2.000.000.000002

Leahy is RHP, so 2025 vs RHP applies. The Brewers' lineup tilts 6 LHB / 4 RHB / 3 SHB. Contreras (R) is the most dangerous regular at .263/.349/.409 with 14 HR. Turang (.274/.352/.447 with 16 HR) and Frelick (.278/.342/.421 with 12 HR) are top lefty bats; Bauers' .360 OBP over 214 PA is a discipline tag. Ortiz, Hamilton, Perkins, and Mitchell sit around the .200 mark vs RHP -- the soft underbelly Leahy can target.

2D: PITCHER PLATOON SPLITS

PitchervsPAAVGOBPSLGOPSHRK
Kyle Leahyvs LHB163.252.337.364.616337
Kyle Leahyvs RHB200.238.270.319.557243
Chad Patrickvs LHB250.261.337.396.657560
Chad Patrickvs RHB284.221.272.369.5901078

Both starters punish RHB more than LHB. Leahy: .557 OPS vs RHB versus .616 vs LHB. Patrick: .590 OPS vs RHB versus .657 vs LHB. The Brewers' 6-LHB tilt is a structural advantage on Leahy; the Cardinals' 5-LHB tilt is a structural advantage on Patrick. Both lineups built to exploit the opposing arm's weaker side.

2D-HA: PITCHER HOME/AWAY SPLITS

PitcherSplitBFIPERAKBBHR
Kyle LeahyAway17343.22.6846132
Kyle LeahyHome19044.14.4734153
Chad PatrickAway24058.13.3952177
Chad PatrickHome29470.12.9486248

Tonight's game is at Busch Stadium. Leahy is pitching home: 4.47 ERA in 44.1 IP, versus 2.68 in 43.2 IP on the road -- a clear venue gap and the K rate falls (46 K away, 34 K home). Patrick pitches away: 3.39 ERA in 58.1 IP, versus 2.94 at home. Both pitchers are slightly worse in tonight's contexts than at their stronger venue, but Leahy's home discount is the larger of the two.

2E: TTO SPLITS (TIMES THROUGH ORDER)

PitcherTTOPAAVGSLGOPSHRKBB
Kyle LeahyTTO1355.247.341.58857628
Kyle LeahyTTO28.125.250.375040
Chad PatrickTTO1254.249.376.62566821
Chad PatrickTTO2205.209.321.53055414
Chad PatrickTTO375.290.565.8554166

Patrick's third pass through the order is the inflection point: .290/.347/.565 (.855 OPS) over 75 PA -- innings 7+ is where the lineup gets its best swings. The first pass (.625 OPS) is league-average and the second pass (.530 OPS) is suppressed; the cliff is the third trip. Leahy carries a 355 PA TTO1 sample at .588 OPS reflecting his reliever role; only 8 PA logged in TTO2 -- not enough to project, but the workload pattern suggests an early hook is likely.

2F: INHERITED RUNNERS PROFILE

RelieverIRScoredStrand%
Kyle Leahy291162.1%
JoJo Romero26388.5%
Matt Svanson261350.0%
Gordon Graceffo11554.5%
Riley O'Brien10370.0%
Michael McGreevy30100.0%

League average strand rate: ~68-72%. Romero leads the Cardinals at 88.5% (3 of 26 IR scored), well above league. Svanson at 50.0% and Graceffo at 54.5% sit below; if either enters with runners, the inning is at risk. McGreevy 100% is on a 3-IR sample. Leahy's 62.1% predates his start role and is reference data only for tonight.

2G: BATTED BALL MATCHUP

Pitcher Batted Ball Profiles (Career)

PitcherBIPGB%FB%LD%
Kyle Leahy24944.2%26.9%27.7%
Chad Patrick33632.4%36.6%30.4%

Hitter Batted Ball Results (Career) -- MIL

HitterGB AVGLD AVGFB AVG
Jake Bauers.188.765.070
Tyler Black.333.333.000
William Contreras.241.651.067
Sal Frelick.269.682.076
David Hamilton.226.444.049
Brandon Lockridge.255.650.095
Garrett Mitchell.200.636.182
Joey Ortiz.281.449.087
Blake Perkins.273.696.097
Luis Rengifo.233.545.096
Gary Sanchez.2221.000.000
Brice Turang.327.609.077

Leahy's career batted-ball mix is 44.2% GB / 26.9% FB / 27.7% LD -- ground-ball-leaning. The Brewers carry several heavy GB bats (Lockridge 57.3%, Contreras 53.1%, Rengifo 52.3%, Perkins 50.5% in 2025), and their GB AVG numbers are pedestrian (Contreras .241, Rengifo .233, Lockridge .255). Expect lots of one-hop grounders into the Cardinals' infield. Patrick reverses the profile (32.4% GB / 36.6% FB / 30.4% LD); Cardinals' fly-ball-tilted bat is Gorman (41.7% FB in 2025), the cleanest matchup with Patrick's pattern.

2H: BATTERY PAIRING

CatcherGIPERAAVGOBPSLG
Pedro Pagés4362.03.05.225----
Yohel Pozo1316.02.25.259----
Jimmy Crooks46.18.53.346----
Ivan Herrera43.06.00.308----

Pedro Pages is the scheduled catcher tonight (lineup #8). Pages-Leahy is the established battery -- 43 G, 62.0 IP, 3.05 ERA, .225 AVG against. Pozo (13 G, 2.25 ERA) is the strongest backup pairing in the data. Crooks (4 G, 8.53 ERA, .346 AVG) and Herrera (4 G, 6.00 ERA, .308 AVG) are well behind on small samples. Pages' familiarity with Leahy's mix is meaningful tonight given the Brewers' running-game volume.

2I: BASERUNNING MATCHUP

Brewers SB leaders (2025):

-- Brice Turang: 24 SB / 8 CS / 75.0% success

-- David Hamilton: 22 SB / 6 CS / 78.6%

-- Sal Frelick: 19 SB / 6 CS / 76.0%

-- Joey Ortiz: 14 SB / 3 CS / 82.4%

-- Brandon Lockridge: 10 SB / 1 CS / 90.9%

-- Luis Rengifo: 10 SB / 7 CS / 58.8%

-- Jake Bauers: 8 SB / 1 CS / 88.9%

-- Blake Perkins: 7 SB / 2 CS / 77.8%

-- William Contreras: 6 SB / 4 CS / 60.0%

-- Garrett Mitchell: 3 SB / 0 CS / 100.0%

-- Greg Jones: 1 SB / 0 CS / 100.0%

Five Brewers carry double-digit SB totals; Turang, Hamilton, and Frelick are the headline volume threats. Lockridge's 90.9% on 11 attempts and Bauers' 88.9% are the success-rate flags. Pages catches tonight (110 G at .994 fielding) -- the strand-vs-steal balance is one of the night's main fulcrums.

2J: DEFENSIVE CONTEXT

PlayerPOSGDPEFld%
Victor ScottCF136360.982
Masyn WinnSS1296430.994
Pedro PagésC110650.994
Jordan WalkerRF108240.981
Nolan Gorman3B541160.950
Alec Burleson1B502740.990
Alec BurlesonLF41001.000
Alec BurlesonRF34110.983
Nolan Gorman2B28910.990
Nathan ChurchCF18001.000
Ivan HerreraC14010.989
Nolan Gorman1B7401.000
Nathan ChurchRF7010.833
Victor ScottRF7001.000
Nathan ChurchLF5001.000
Victor ScottLF4001.000
Ivan HerreraLF4001.000
Pedro Pagés1B2101.000
Pedro Pagés2B1001.000
Alec BurlesonP100--

Tonight's lineup positions per the lineup card: Wetherholt 2B (rookie -- no career fielding sample in this dataset), Burleson 1B (50 G at .990, 4 errors), Walker RF (108 G at .981), Gorman 3B (54 G at .950 with 6 errors -- the lineup's weakest infield spot), Winn SS (129 G at .994 -- elite), Church LF (5 G at LF in the data, more time logged at CF and RF), Pages C (110 G at .994), Scott CF (136 G at .982). The left side of the infield (Gorman / Winn) faces a GB-heavy Brewers lineup against Leahy's GB-heavy career profile -- a lot of grounders are going to find that side.

2K: BALLPARK CONTEXT & HEAD-TO-HEAD

Recent head-to-head records: 2025 STL 6-7, 2024 STL 5-8, 2023 STL 5-8, 2022 STL 10-9. Brewers have taken the season series each of the last three years.

Busch Stadium plays as a roughly neutral-to-pitcher-leaning venue historically. Specific park factors are not provided in the JSON; qualitative framing only.

2L: BATTER K%/BB% PROFILE

Cardinals

PlayerPAKK%BBBB%
Alec Burleson5447914.5%397.2%
Masyn Winn53710219.0%346.3%
Victor Scott46311124.0%429.1%
Ivan Herrera4508418.7%439.6%
Nolan Gorman40213633.8%4711.7%
Jordan Walker39612631.8%297.3%
Pedro Pagés38910727.5%194.9%
Nathan Church651827.7%34.6%

Gorman (33.8% K%) and Walker (31.8% K%) are the lineup's high-strikeout ends; both are 2025 figures. Pages 27.5% K% with 4.9% BB% is the worst plate-discipline ratio on the card. Burleson at 14.5% K% / 7.2% BB% is the cleanest contact profile.

Brewers

PlayerPAKK%BBBB%
Brice Turang65915022.8%6610.0%
William Contreras65912018.2%8412.7%
Sal Frelick5908013.6%478.0%
Luis Rengifo54110419.2%336.1%
Joey Ortiz5067414.6%275.3%
Jake Bauers2185927.1%3214.7%
David Hamilton1944724.2%136.7%
Blake Perkins1714727.5%158.8%
Brandon Lockridge1483624.3%85.4%
Gary Sanchez1012726.7%44.0%
Garrett Mitchell782532.1%79.0%
Tyler Black1317.7%538.5%
Greg Jones22100.0%00.0%

Brewers' 2025 discipline tags: Bauers' 14.7% BB% is elite among regulars; Tyler Black's 38.5% BB% sits on a 13 PA sample and is too small to project. Mitchell (32.1% K%), Bauers (27.1%), Perkins (27.5%), and Sanchez (26.7%) are the high-strikeout ends. Contreras (18.2% K% / 12.7% BB%) is the most balanced regular -- the toughest at-bat on the card.

2M: BATTER BATTED BALL PROFILE

Cardinals

PlayerBIPGB%FB%LD%
Alec Burleson39842.0%33.4%24.6%
Masyn Winn37639.6%34.0%26.3%
Ivan Herrera28552.6%21.8%25.6%
Victor Scott25940.2%32.0%27.8%
Pedro Pagés24344.9%30.9%24.3%
Jordan Walker23148.9%29.4%21.6%
Nolan Gorman19930.2%41.7%28.1%
Nathan Church3767.6%21.6%10.8%

Gorman's 2025 batted-ball mix is the lineup outlier: 30.2% GB / 41.7% FB -- a fly-ball-tilted bat against Patrick's fly-ball-friendly profile (36.6% FB, only 32.4% GB). Burleson, Winn, and Scott carry balanced ~40% GB lines. Herrera (52.6% GB) and Church (67.6% GB on a 37-BIP sample) skew heavily toward grounders.

Brewers

PlayerBIPGB%FB%LD%
Sal Frelick45847.8%28.8%23.4%
William Contreras45453.1%22.9%24.0%
Brice Turang42448.3%24.5%27.1%
Joey Ortiz40046.3%31.5%22.3%
Luis Rengifo38652.3%21.5%26.2%
Jake Bauers12538.4%34.4%27.2%
David Hamilton12143.8%33.9%22.3%
Blake Perkins10950.5%28.4%21.1%
Brandon Lockridge9657.3%21.9%20.8%
Gary Sanchez5945.8%37.3%16.9%
Garrett Mitchell4247.6%26.2%26.2%
Tyler Black742.9%14.3%42.9%
Greg Jones0------

The Brewers' top hitters trend GB-heavy in 2025: Contreras 53.1%, Frelick 47.8%, Turang 48.3%, Lockridge 57.3%, Rengifo 52.3%, Perkins 50.5%. Leahy's 44.2% GB profile fits this pattern -- a lot of grounders are likely tonight, and the Brewers' GB AVG numbers above (Contreras .241, Rengifo .233, Lockridge .255) are pedestrian. Bauers (38.4% GB) is the FB outlier on Milwaukee's side.

2N: PITCHER K%/BB% PROFILE

PitcherIPKK%BBBB%K/BB
Chad Patrick119.212725.2%408.0%3.18
Kyle Leahy88.08022.0%287.7%2.86

2025 baselines: Patrick 25.2% K% / 8.0% BB% / 3.18 K/BB ratio. Leahy 22.0% K% / 7.7% BB% / 2.86 K/BB ratio. 2026 to date: Patrick 14.0% K% / 11.4% BB% (the walk rate has stepped up sharply from 2025); Leahy 16.4% K% / 8.2% BB% (also down from 2025 with a higher BB%). Both pitchers are walking more this year than they did in 2025; the K rates are softer too. The Patrick 2.57 ERA is masking command that has slipped versus his 2025 form.

KEY MATCHUPS & WATCHLIST

Burleson vs Patrick. Burleson is the Cardinals' best stick versus right-handers (.296/.353/.478 with 15 HR over 419 PA in 2025). Career BvP off Patrick is 1-for-2 (.500), too small to project. Burleson's 2026 RISP slash is .381/.426/.619/1.045 -- a leverage bat against a Patrick whose third pass through the order is the cliff (.855 OPS in 2025).

Contreras vs Leahy. Brewers' top RHB at .263/.349/.409 vs RHP in 2025; 12.7% BB% leads the regulars. Career off Leahy: 1-for-4 with a walk. Leahy's vs-RHB profile is the better side of his platoon (.557 OPS vs .616 vs LHB), so this is the matchup where Leahy has the structural edge -- Contreras is the test.

Turang vs the Pages-Leahy battery. Turang has 24 SB on 75% success in 2025; Leahy carries a 44.2% career GB rate that creates first-pitch jump windows. Pages is the established battery (110 G at .994 fielding; 43 G with Leahy specifically) -- the strand-vs-steal balance is the night's biggest situational fulcrum.

X-factor: Leahy at home. 4.47 home ERA versus 2.68 on the road (career). The Brewers run out 6 LHB, and Leahy's vs-LHB OPS is .616 versus .557 vs RHB. The structural lever for Milwaukee tonight is to keep the lineup left.

Watchlist: Patrick TTO3 cliff (.855 OPS allowed, innings 7+); Brewers running game (5 hitters with 10+ SB; Lockridge 90.9%); STL lefty bats vs Patrick (.657 OPS allowed vs LHB in 2025, 5 LHB in the lineup); Romero leverage (88.5% IR strand percentage in 2025); avoid Svanson (50.0%) and Graceffo (54.5%) with runners on.

QUICK REFERENCE -- IN-GAME QUERIES

1. How has Alec Burleson performed against Chad Patrick in their career?

2. How has Kyle Leahy fared against William Contreras in their career?

3. How has Brice Turang performed against JoJo Romero in their career?

4. What are Chad Patrick's third-time-through-the-order splits in 2025?

5. What are Alec Burleson's splits vs RHP in 2025?

6. How often does JoJo Romero strand inherited runners in 2025?

7. What is the home run park factor at Busch Stadium in 2025?

700 CLARK -- POWERED BY BASES.CHAT | HISTORICAL DATA THROUGH 2025