Cardinals-Brewers Preview
By SCOTT GARBARINI STATS Writer
As the calendar approaches June, Carlos Martinez likely can't wait to turn the page on May. The St. Louis Cardinals pitcher hopes to end a rough month on a positive note in Monday's opener of a three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers. Martinez (4-5, 4.25 ERA) seemed on the verge of taking a major step forward after posting a 1.93 ERA in winning each of his four April starts. It's been an entirely different outcome in May, as he's lost five straight outings while producing a 6.84 ERA. The 24-year-old struggled again Wednesday, allowing six runs in five innings of a 9-8 loss to the Chicago Cubs. It's the third consecutive start that Martinez has surrendered at least four runs and fourth straight in which he hasn't lasted beyond five innings. Martinez's inconsistency has mirrored the first two months for St. Louis (26-25), which continues to hover around .500 and lose ground to the NL Central-leading Cubs. The Cardinals appeared to be making headway with consecutive wins in Washington that preceded Sunday's 10-2 loss and resulted in a four-game series split. The Nationals broke open the game with a five-run seventh inning against a bullpen that didn't have key members Seung Hwan Oh and Kevin Siegrist available due to heavy usage over the past week. "We can't just keep using the same guys every night. We're going to blow them out," manager Mike Matheny told MLB's official website. A matchup in Milwaukee (23-27) could bode well for Martinez, as he dominated in two starts at Miller Park last season and owns a 1.75 ERA there. He limited the Brewers to a run over eight innings last September and struck out eight over seven in a 3-0 win on April 24, 2015. The Brewers also may not have their best hitter available with Ryan Braun having missed two straight games with a stiff neck. Milwaukee has been getting production from other spots during a stretch in which it's won five of six. Jonathan Lucroy went 6 for 11 with two homers and nine RBIs in this weekend's series with Cincinnati, Aaron Hill is 8 for 13 with two homers over his last four games and Jonathan Villar is 9 for 19 with seven runs scored over the past five. Villar went 2 for 2 and scored three times in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Reds, raising his average to .373 since May 9. ''That's the kind of guy you want in the leadoff spot," said Lucroy, who had three RBIs in all three games. "He's got speed, he's hitting for average, he's walking and he's making good decisions. It's nice to get up there and have a guy on base every time you get up to hit.'' Junior Guerra (3-0, 3.30) has also provided an unexpected lift, with the Brewers having won all of the 31-year-old rookie's five starts since he joined the rotation May 3. He's yielded three runs and recorded 21 strikeouts in 18 innings over his last three. Guerra followed an 11-strikeout effort to defeat the Cubs on May 19 by tossing five scoreless innings in Wednesday's 3-2, 13-inning win at Atlanta. St. Louis took two of three at home from the Brewers from April 11-14 and have won 11 of 15 in the series. The Cardinals are 9-2 in their last 11 visits to Miller Park. |