St. Louis Cardinals: Brewers to skip Chase Anderson against Cardinals Monday

The Milwaukee Brewers will skip their Opening Day starter against the St. Louis Cardinals and use their bullpen arms throughout the game. Could the Cardinals take advantage of that and dominate?

The St. Louis Cardinals have been on fire as of late, winners in their last six of seven games. They are also fighting for a spot in the playoffs, which would be their first appearance since 2015. The division rival Milwaukee Brewers, who own the first Wild Card spot at the moment, stand in the way for the Redbirds as they will square off in a three-game series which will go a long way in deciding the NL playoff picture.

Brewers manager Craig Counsell has announced that they will skip Chase Anderson’s start against the Cardinals on Monday. They will most likely start a reliever against the Cardinals, making it a bullpen day. Counsell is currently unsure who will start against St. Louis.

He has already said All-Star Josh Hader will not be starting for the bullpen game. Though Anderson will not be starting, he will be available to come out of the bullpen in case of emergency.

In 2017, Anderson had a remarkable season with a 2.74 ERA with a 133 strikeouts, both career bests. His campaign was enough to earn him his first career Opening Day start. He has been about average in 2018, with a 3.93 ERA while allowing 30 HRs and walking 57 batters. He also has a 5.22 FIP, which isn’t good at all.

The St. Louis Cardinals have his number so far this season, slashing .270/.357/.622 with a .979 OPS against him. The Cardinals have also taken him deep four times this season as well.

The Cardinals will send rookie Jack Flaherty to the mound against the Brewers. Flaherty is coming off a rough start against the Atlanta Braves, allowing five runs over 4.2 innings. However, he has dominated the Brewers all season long, with a 1.00 ERA against them. He’s even taken two no-hitters past the fifth inning against them. He could potentially start the Wild Card game if they face the Brewers as well.

The Brewers are currently 2.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs for the division lead, and also 2.0 games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals for second place in the division and first place in the NL Wild Card race. If the season were to end today, the Cardinals would be in Milwaukee to play the Brewers in the Wild Card game.

Was skipping Anderson the right move for the Brewers? Could the Cardinals take advantage of the Brewers bullpen game and cruise to a big victory? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.