St. Louis @ Milwaukee preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 11, 2011 ) Milwaukee 2, St. Louis 5

THE STORY: The surging Milwaukee Brewers look to put the nail in the St. Louis Cardinals’ coffin when the teams open a three-game series Tuesday at Miller Park. Milwaukee leads St. Louis by 10 1/2 games in the NL Central, with six games left against each other. The Brewers have a magic number of 18 as they near their first division title since 1982, when they played in the AL East and ultimately lost to the Cards in a seven-game World Series.

TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, FSN, FS-M

PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Shaun Marcum (11-4, 3.38 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Edwin Jackson (10-9, 3.94 ERA).

Marcum is coming off his first loss in 10 starts dating to late June, but the Cards have tagged him for 12 earned runs in three starts this season covering 20 innings. Batters are hitting just .227 against Marcum, who has handled Lance Berkman (1-for-11) and Albert Pujols (1-for-8) so far.

Jackson makes his seventh start since being acquired from the White Sox. He was outstanding his last time out, holding the Pirates to one earned run in six innings of an 8-4 win. Batters are hitting .291 against him. St. Louis lost his two previous starts against Milwaukee early this month.

ABOUT THE BREWERS (81-54): Milwaukee is 21-5 in August with two games left. The team already has tied the club record for most wins in a month, set in June 1978. Zack Greinke is not only a perfect 10-0 at Miller Park, he’s one of three pitchers in the majors with a stolen base after swiping second in Sunday’s win over the Cubs. Outfielder Ryan Braun (.334) has two hits in four of his last five games. Six of the nine hits in that span have been doubles, giving him 35.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS (70-64): St. Louis is 15-16 since owning a half-game lead over the Brewers on July 26. Manager Tony La Russa said rookie Brandon Dickson will be recalled from Triple-A to start Thursday’s game, giving lefthander Jaime Garcia a few extra days off. Garcia is winless in his last six starts. Garcia normally would have started Tuesday’s game but now won’t pitch until Saturday at home against Cincinnati.

FINAL PITCH: Milwaukee, which leads the season series 8-4, also will visit St. Louis from Sept. 5-7.