St. Louis @ Milwaukee preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 1, 2011 ) St. Louis 2, Milwaukee 6

THE STORY: The red-hot Brewers have guaranteed they won't give up first place in their showdown series with the Cardinals. Instead they're thinking about pulling away in what used to MLB's tightest division race. Milwaukee goes for its eighth straight win when it hosts St. Louis on Tuesday in the second of a three-game series. The Brewers lead the NL Central by 3 1/2 games; the Cards have not trailed by this much since April 12. The only good news for St. Louis is that lefty Jaime Garcia takes the mound Tuesday. Milwaukee is 11-13 against left-handed starters.

TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, FSN,

PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Shaun Marcum (10-3, 3.33 ERA) vs. Cardinals LH Jaime Garcia (10-5, 3.14 ERA).

Marcum won his only career start against the Cards, allowing three runs over seven innings on June 12. He fanned eight and allowed five hits. Marcum has allowed two runs in each of his last three starts, and opponents are hitting just .223.

Garcia is 3-2 with a 3.00 ERA in seven outings against the Brewers, but he’s been vulnerable on the road this season (4.74 ERA). Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder are both hitting .211 against Garcia (4-for-19). Braun has one homer, Fielder none.

ABOUT THE BREWERS (61-49): Milwaukee is an incredible 40-14 at home and has won 11 of its last 12 at Miller Park. Starter Zack Greinke is 7-0 at home after Monday's 6-2 win. Right fielder Corey Hart has three straight multi-hit games. Switch-hitting Felipe Lopez has started four straight games since being acquired from Tampa Bay. Filling in for injured second baseman Rickie Weeks, Lopez has gone 3-for-15 with two runs scored.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS (57-52): In his first start as a Cardinal, shortstop Rafael Furcal led off and went 1-for-4 with a walk and a run scored. Manager Tony La Russa said Matt Holliday's timing hadn't been quite right since he participated in the Home Run Derby, but after homering to the opposite field Monday, his 15th homer this season, Holliday is on an 8-for-22 run. The Cards are 0-3 at Miller Park and trail the season series with Milwaukee 5-2.

FINAL PITCH: Chris Carpenter notched his 1,000th strikeout as a Cardinal in Monday's loss.