As the pennant races start to heat up,�Big League Stew�will be there to take a closer look at some of the biggest�series down the stretch.
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The situation: The Crew leads the Cards by three games in the NL Central.
Previously: The two teams have already met nine times this season with Milwaukee holding a 6-3 edge. The Brewers took two of three last week in Wisconsin.
What's left: This could end up being one of the closest division races, but we won't see them play during the final weeks of September. A three-game set at Miller Park from Aug. 30-Sept. 1 and another three games at Busch Stadium from Sept. 5-7 is all that remains after this meeting.
For starters: Shaun Marcum and Edwin Jackson unleash the fury in Tuesday night's opener, followed by Randy Wolf and Jake Westbrook on Wednesday and Yovani Gallardo vs. Chris Carpenter on Thursday evening.
Hey, didn't these two teams just meet? Why yes, Pete, they did. Last week's meeting between the two teams in Milwaukee had no shortage of entertaining moments, whether it was a brewing beanball battle in the middle game, Tony La Russa charging that Miller Park's scoreboards were being manipulated to his team's disadvantage, a temper tantrum from Yadier Molina or a three-homer game from Casey McGehee. The Brewers extended their division lead to three games during the series and because both teams are coming off four-game weekend sweeps of other opponents, they're picking up right where they left off. As Bryan Burwell of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes: "Cards vs. Brewers is what a genuine baseball rivalry ought to feel like. Provocative, contentious, but most of all competitively significant."
Pujols vs. Prince: It's kind of nutty that the top two free agents-to-be aren't occupying a big spot in baseball's mind this season, but it's not like any contracts are going to be worked out during the season. After a relatively slow start to the season, Pujols has regained his power: Since the All-Star break, he has nine homers with a .974 OPS. Fielder, meanwhile, is the only player in baseball who has started all of his team's games so far and has an MVP-type line of .304/.420/.571 with 26 homers and 85 RBIs thus far. Both men enter Tuesday's game�having homered in their last two contests.
Prince vs. Fat Elvis: Fielder wouldn't mind giving Scott Boras some heavy hardware to shop around this winter, but it isn't Pujols who ranks as his closest competition for the NL MVP award. Teammate Ryan Braun might end up making a good case of his own, but if we're talking about the Cardinals' offerings, it's Lance Berkman. The revitalized vet is hitting .293/.401/.592 with 28 homers and 75 RBIs this season. Matt Holliday has the highest OPS in the NL (.994), too, but hasn't played in 26 fewer games than Fielder.
Is it just these two left in the division? Yup. The Pirates were hanging around when the two teams met up last week, but 10 straight losses sunk 'em faster than an Allegheny River kayaker who'd had too many ICs after shoving off. The Buccos are currently 9.5 games back of the Brewers while the hugely disappointing Reds trail Milwaukee by 10.
Can the Cards keep it together no matter what happens? If you read Burwell's column that was linked above, there's no doubt that people in St. Louis are asking that same question. After all, it's almost been a year to the day that the Cardinals and Reds brawled, setting the stage for what looked like a great, emotion-fueled pennant race. But despite sweeping that three-game series in Cincinnati, the Cards made September a mere formality by falling eight games behind the Reds over the next three weeks. Both teams have a big chance to make a move here, but nothing will�be decided by the end of Thursday night.
Battle of the breweries!: Miller vs. Budweiser, who you taking? (And save it, beer snobs. I like a good draft as much as the next guy ? if not more ? but there's no crime in picking a side in the Coke vs. Pepsi of the suds world.)
CC Sabathia Jermaine Oneal Houston Texans Jason Smith Cleveland Cavaliers
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