The set-up: The 73-66 Cardinals own the longest active run of playoff appearances (five) but Thursday's 12-5 home loss against the going nowhere Brewers, hardly helps the cause. St. Louis is just ONE game behind San Francisco for the National League's first wild card spot but now also finds themselves a half-game back of the New York Mets for wild card spot No. 2. The Brewers may stand just 63-77 on the season but they racked up 17 hits (including three HRs) in Thursday's 12-5 victory in the opener of this four-game series (note: Milwaukee has now won seven of its last eight games).

The pitching matchup: Jimmy Nelson (7-13, 4.36 ERA) takes the mound for Milwaukee and Carlos Martinez (13-7, 3.07 ERA) for St. Louis. Jimmy Nelson's season has fallen apart since the start of June, as he enters this contest 2-10 (5.61 ERA) over his last 17 starts (Milwaukee is just 4-13). Carlos Martinez won a surprising 14 games in 2015 and he now has a chance to earn win No. 14 in 2016, tonight. Martinez is coming off a 5-2 win Sunday at Cincinnati in which he struggled with his control, giving up five walks in six-plus innings, but didn't give up a run until the seventh because he induced three double plays. The double play has become a staple of Martinez's 26 starts in 2016, as he leads the NL with 30 double play balls.

The pick: Nelson's struggles vs. St. Louis as obvious, as he's 0-6 with a 7.57 ERA in eight career meetings (seven starts / teams are 2-5). Meanwhile, Martinez is 3-1 with a 1.20 ERA in 18 career games (seven starts / Cards are 5-2) against Milwaukee. The Cards are a 5* play.