Cardinals at Brewers 3/28/19 - MLB Picks & Predictions

On Thursday, the St. Louis Cardinals open their 2019 MLB regular season with a visit to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cardinals have high expectations this season after acquiring first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. The Cardinals will have a strong middle of the order with Goldschmidt, Marcell Ozuna and Yadier Molina, while the pitching rotation will feature Miles Mikolas, Jack Flaherty and Adam Wainwright.

Milwaukee is expected to be the top team in the National League Central with NL MVP Christian Yellich returning and Mike Moustakas re-signing and catcher Yasmani Grandal added to the lineup. Third baseman Travis Shaw will be a key to the run productions if he can continue hitting home runs like he has the last two seasons. The pitching rotation will feature Jhoulys Chacin, Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta. Last season Jose Martinez led the Cardinals in batting with an average of .305, but his time will be reduced with the addition of Paul Goldschmidt, although Martinez will rotate in the outfield. Matt Carpenter led the Cardinals in home runs with 36 and will anchor the hot corner at third, while Marcell Ozuna was the team leader in RBIs with 88. Miles Mikolas will start opening day and last season was 18-4 with an ERA of 2.83, 146 Ks and 29 BBs.

Christian Yellich led the Brewers last season in batting average at .326, home runs with 36 and RBIs with 110. Lorenzo Cain was the second leading hitter at .308, while five players including Yellich and Cain hit 23 or more home runs. Jhoulys Chacin will start opening day on the mound for Milwaukee. Last season the right-hander was 15-8 with an ERA of 3.50, 156 Ks and 71 BBs.