St. Louis Cardinals vs Milwaukee Brewers Picks and Prediction for Friday September 25 2026

The St. Louis Cardinals visit the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Friday, September 25, 2026. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 PM ET with coverage on MLB.TV. St. Louis enters at 77-81 overall and 39-38 on the road, while Milwaukee is 99-59 overall and an impressive 52-26 at home. The Brewers have already secured a commanding position atop the NL Central and enter the final series of the regular season 22 games ahead of fourth-place St. Louis. Milwaukee has also dominated this matchup, leading the season series 8-2. Both teams won their most recent completed games, with St. Louis beating Pittsburgh 5-1 and Milwaukee defeating Philadelphia 4-1. At the time of this writing the odds were not released. Be sure to check out our free MLB picks for more MLB predictions throughout the season.

Starting Pitchers

St. Louis is scheduled to start Michael McGreevy, who enters at 7-9 with a 3.84 ERA and 1.25 WHIP through 164 innings. He has allowed 159 hits and 21 home runs while recording 113 strikeouts against 46 walks. Milwaukee counters with Robert Gasser, who is 5-5 with a 4.01 ERA and 1.24 WHIP through 103.1 innings. He has surrendered 94 hits and 14 home runs while striking out 94 and walking 34. There is not a major statistical separation between the two starters. St. Louis has the slightly better ERA, while Milwaukee owns the marginal WHIP advantage and has generated considerably more strikeouts relative to innings pitched. That makes the quality of the two complete teams more important than the starting-pitching matchup alone.

St. Louis Tries to Finish Strong on the Road

St. Louis enters the final weekend of the regular season below .500 at 77-81, although its 39-38 road record shows that playing away from home has not been a major weakness. The Cardinals have gone 2-3 over their last five games, alternating wins and losses over their last four. They most recently defeated Pittsburgh 5-1 after being shut out 2-0 the previous night. St. Louis has scored 16 runs and allowed 23 across its last five games, with much of the damage coming in losses of 9-1 and 8-5 against Washington.

The Cardinals are batting .241 with 709 runs, 1,288 hits and 161 home runs. They carry a .315 on-base percentage and .380 slugging percentage into Friday's matchup. Their pitching staff owns a 4.26 ERA and 1.35 WHIP while issuing 548 walks and recording 1,248 strikeouts. Opponents are batting .253 against St. Louis pitching, and the Cardinals have gone 49-48 in night games.

St. Louis has enough pitching in Friday's starting matchup to remain competitive, but its season-long offensive production presents a difficult matchup against Milwaukee. The Cardinals trail the Brewers by 101 runs despite having hit 10 more home runs, illustrating how much better Milwaukee has been at consistently generating offense. St. Louis also faces the challenge of a Milwaukee pitching staff that has held opponents to a .223 average. For the Cardinals to pull the upset, they likely need another strong starting performance while preventing Milwaukee from creating traffic on the bases.

Milwaukee's Complete Profile Creates the Advantage

Milwaukee enters at 99-59 and has an opportunity to reach the 100-win mark on Friday night. The Brewers have been particularly dominant at American Family Field, where they are 52-26. They have also won four of their last five games, with the only defeat during that stretch coming 6-4 at Philadelphia. Milwaukee recently swept three games in Baltimore by scores of 6-5 in 10 innings, 1-0 and 3-0 before splitting its first two games in Philadelphia. The Brewers have allowed only 12 runs across their last five contests.

The Brewers are batting .257 with 810 runs, 1,381 hits and 151 home runs. Their .339 on-base percentage is particularly important because it is 24 points higher than St. Louis' .315 mark, while Milwaukee also owns a .402 slugging percentage. The pitching numbers are even more impressive. Milwaukee carries a 3.53 ERA and 1.19 WHIP with 1,503 strikeouts against 507 walks while limiting opponents to a .223 batting average. The Brewers are also 65-36 in night games.

Milwaukee's biggest advantage is how few obvious weaknesses appear in its statistical profile. The Brewers have the better batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, run production, ERA, WHIP, strikeout total and opponent batting average. They have also won eight of the first 10 meetings against St. Louis this season. The Cardinals can keep this competitive if their starter performs well, but Milwaukee's combination of lineup depth, pitching and home-field performance gives it multiple ways to win.

St. Louis Cardinals vs Milwaukee Brewers Picks and Prediction

Pick: Milwaukee Brewers Moneyline

Milwaukee is the moneyline selection based on a substantial collection of season-long advantages. The Brewers are 22 games better in the standings, have gone 52-26 at home and have already won eight of 10 meetings against St. Louis. Their pitching staff has been particularly dominant compared with the Cardinals, posting a 3.53 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and .223 opponent batting average against St. Louis marks of 4.26, 1.35 and .253. Milwaukee also owns the significantly stronger offense with 810 runs, a .257 average and .339 OBP. Friday's starting matchup is relatively competitive, which makes laying a large run line less attractive, but Milwaukee's considerable advantage once the game moves beyond the starters makes the Brewers the preferred side.

Pick: Under 8.5 or Higher

The under is the preferred total if the market opens at 8.5 or higher. Both scheduled starters enter with ERAs around four and WHIPs close to 1.25, while Milwaukee brings one of the stronger overall pitching profiles into the matchup. The Brewers have allowed only 12 runs over their last five games and have held opponents to a .223 batting average for the season. St. Louis has scored only 16 runs across its last five and owns a modest .380 slugging percentage. The season series also contains several low-scoring meetings, including Milwaukee victories of 5-1, 6-0 and 2-1 and a 5-1 St. Louis victory. Milwaukee has enough offense to do most of the necessary scoring, but its pitching advantage makes Under 8.5 or higher the better total position.

Final Picks: Milwaukee Brewers Moneyline and Under 8.5 or Higher

This preview was completed on Thursday, September 24, 2026. Starting pitchers, betting lines and other game information are subject to change before the game begins.