Brewers visit Cardinals for critical divisional series

The National League Central race intensifies when the St. Louis Cardinals host the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night in the opener of a three-game series at Busch Stadium.

The Brewers (two games back), Cardinals and Chicago Cubs (tied for first) are bunched within two games of each other atop the division standings. The Brewers and Cardinals play each other nine times before season’s end, with six in St. Louis.

The Cardinals have won seven of their last nine games, while the Brewers have lost four of their last six. In their last two games, Milwaukee pitchers allowed 30 runs in 22 innings.

But the Brewers have reigning NL MVP Christian Yelich healthy and hitting again. After struggling with back soreness for a week, he went 1-for-15 in his first three starts back before heating up over the weekend.

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Yelich has gone 7-for-9 with a walk, two home runs, four RBIs, four runs scored and a stolen base in his last two games. On Saturday, he became the 19th player in MLB history to hit 40 or more homers and steal 20 or more bases in the same season.

Brewers pitcher Zach Davies (8-5, 3.74 ERA) will come off the injured list to start Game 1 against the Cardinals. He, too, was sidelined with back stiffness, last pitching Aug. 2.

“I think I’ll be tight and sore in between starts. That’s the nature of it,” Davies told MLB.com. “But we can manage it. We can work on it and be good to go for each start from here on out.

“I’ve talked to a lot of people, and it’s kind of based on my mechanics. I think it blocked me out and put a lot of stress on my lower back. Getting back to the last couple of months of 2017 with my motion and mechanics is where I want to be, and where I think I’ll be healthy.”

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