The Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals meet at Busch Stadium on April 26, 2025, in a crucial early-season battle between two National League Central rivals both looking to spark some momentum after uneven starts to their respective campaigns. The Brewers enter the contest with a 13–14 record, having lost three straight games and struggling to find consistency, particularly on the road where their offense has tended to cool off at critical moments. Rookie right-hander Chad Patrick will get the ball for Milwaukee, and he has been a bright spot in the rotation so far, posting a 1–1 record with an impressive 2.11 ERA and showcasing the command and poise of a veteran in his early outings. The Cardinals, meanwhile, sit at 11–15 but have played better baseball recently at home, buoyed by an offense that has started to heat up thanks to the hot bat of Willson Contreras, who enters Saturday riding a six-game hitting streak, and the steady contributions of Alec Burleson. Left-hander Matthew Liberatore will take the mound for St. Louis, bringing a 1–2 record and a 3.60 ERA into the matchup, looking to provide quality innings and keep the Brewers’ bats at bay long enough for the Cardinals’ offense to stake an early lead.

Both teams have had issues in the bullpen, with the Cardinals’ relief corps notably struggling to protect late leads, a factor that could loom large if the game remains close heading into the later innings. Milwaukee will need a strong start from Patrick and timely contributions from Christian Yelich and William Contreras, who have been their most consistent offensive threats, to put pressure on St. Louis early and avoid letting the Cardinals’ bats dictate the tempo of the game. Defensively, both teams have had lapses, but Milwaukee has generally been a bit sharper in the field, something that could prove critical in what figures to be a tightly contested game. The recent head-to-head history slightly favors the Cardinals, who have covered the spread in four of the last six meetings, and the trend toward high-scoring affairs between these teams suggests that whichever bullpen holds up better will likely determine the outcome. For the Brewers, snapping their skid and getting back to .500 would be a major boost to morale and keep them in close range of the division leaders, while for the Cardinals, another home victory would continue to rebuild confidence after a sluggish start and allow them to climb out of the early-season hole they’ve dug. With division pride on the line and both teams desperate for a win, fans can expect a spirited, playoff-intensity atmosphere at Busch Stadium where every pitch and every defensive play could swing the momentum in what shapes up to be an important Saturday showdown.