Milwaukee @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 7, 2012 ) Milwaukee 5, St. Louis 4

The Milwaukee Brewers may have too much ground to make up in their late-season charge for a postseason berth, but with the margin of error at zero, Ryan Braun showed why he is the reigning National League MVP. Braun belted his 38th homer - a season high - in the 13th inning to give the Brewers a 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in Friday's series opener. The win pulled Milwaukee within six games of St. Louis, which holds down the second wild card slot.

The Cardinals made an improbable run to a World Series championship last season, so they certainly know anything is possible. St. Louis didn't lose any ground with Friday's loss and maintained a 1 1/2-game lead over Pittsburgh and Los Angeles in the wild card race. Left fielder Matt Holliday, who has 25 homers and a team-high 92 RBIs, is expected to rejoin the lineup Saturday after sitting out two games with an ailing back.

TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Wisconsin (Milwaukee), Fox Sports Midwest (St. Louis)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Mike Fiers (8-7, 3.11 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Jake Westbrook (13-10, 3.93)

Fiers lasted only 3 1/3 innings in his last start, giving up six runs (four earned) against Miami. He also issued a season high-tying four bases on balls, the third time in starts he has walked that many batters. The 27-year-old rookie will be making his fourth consecutive start away from home, where he is 4-3 with a 3.66 ERA. He tossed seven scoreless innings of four-hit ball against the Cardinals on July 16.

Westbrook appears to have hit a bit of a wall in his last three starts. After a string of 13 consecutive starts in which he pitched at least six innings, he has not gone beyond 5 1/3 in his last three outings and has surrendered 14 runs on 27 hits in 15 1/3 innings during that span. He beat the Brewers early in the year, giving up one run on seven hits, to improve to 2-3 with a 2.80 ERA in seven starts against them.

WALK-OFFS

1. Braun leads the NL in homers and RBIs (100). He became the first player in franchise history with five straight 100-RBI seasons.

2. Cardinals CF Jon Jay had three more hits Friday and is batting .390 since Aug. 6, tops in the majors.

3. St. Louis RHP Chris Carpenter, a former Cy Young Award winner who has yet to pitch this season, is scheduled to throw a simulated game Monday.