St. Louis @ Milwaukee preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 3, 2015 ) Milwaukee 4, St. Louis 7

The St. Louis Cardinals can become the first team in the majors to reach 70 wins when they visit the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series between the best and worst teams in the National League Central. The Cardinals took the final two games of their series in Cincinnati to move 30 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2013 season.

Lance Lynn will be making his fourth start against the Brewers this season after he gave up a combined one run to win both outings in St. Louis and got tagged for a season-worst six runs and 10 hits in a loss at Milwaukee. The Cardinals are 6-3 against the Brewers this season, with half the victories coming via shutout. Milwaukee has been pretty much an all-or-nothing club since the All-Star break, sandwiching winning streaks of four and three games around three- and six-game skids. The Brewers outscored the Padres 22-7 in taking the final three of their four-game series.

TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Lance Lynn (8-6, 2.89 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Tyler Cravy (0-2, 3.60)

Lynn had a three-start unbeaten streak halted when he allowed four runs on seven hits over five innings in a 6-2 loss to Colorado on Saturday. The 28-year-old surrendered a pair of home runs in the setback, matching the total he allowed in his previous nine starts combined. He blanked the Brewers on five hits over 7 2/3 scoreless innings on June 2 to improve to 7-3 against them - tying his most wins against any opponent.

Kyle Lohse was in line to start versus his former team, but he was pulled from the rotation to make room for Cravy, who made his major-league debut against St. Louis and Lynn on June 2. The 26-year-old acquitted himself well but was saddled with a hard-luck loss after yielding one run on four hits over seven innings. He took the loss in his only other start versus Atlanta on July 7, allowing four runs over six innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Cardinals 3B Matt Carpenter has five homers and eight RBIs in his last seven games.

2. Brewers LF Khris Davis clubbed a pair of two-run homers Thursday and is 6-for-12 with eight RBIs in the last three games.

3. Cardinals 2B Kolten Wong had a two-run single Thursday but is only 2-for-19 over the past five games.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 4, Brewers 3