While the Cardinals have clearly been one of MLB’s feel-good stories throughout the first half of what was supposed to be a rebuilding season filled with challenges, their growth and progress must still be measured against a Brewers bulldozer that continues to dominate the NL Central Division.

The Cards came into Monday riding the momentum of road series wins over the Braves and Cubs, but none of that bothered a Brewers squad that systematically beat St. Louis in every phase of the game over the past four days.

Losing 8-4 to the Brewers on Thursday night – and losing four times in five games at Busch Stadium and eight times in 10 meetings in 2026 – was something of a harsh reminder of just how much growth is still needed from a young and feisty Cardinals club hoping to be championship contenders again in the coming years.

Milwaukee pulled off come-from-behind wins over the Cardinals in the first game of the series before throttling them 10-2 on Tuesday night. The Cardinals clawed back a bit on Wednesday in a 5-1 win, but the Brewers rebounced early on Thursday to remind the Cardinals again who the team to beat in the NL Central for a third straight season.

"It was a really good series, but obviously we were on the wrong side of several of these ball games," Cardinals' manager Oliver Marmol told reporters. "You bring up the tying run in the eighth today, that's a good club across the way that's in their window to win. We've been public about where we're at and what we're trying to strive for over the next couple of years. I like the way we competed. I like the way we took at bats and tried to come back in that game."

By the time the Brewers were done, the battered Cardinals found themselves 10 ½ games back in the division, further behind the Cubs than when they left Chicago on Sunday night and trailing in the chase for a Wild Card slot.

Up next for the Cardinals is a three-game series against a Braves team that they defeated twice in three games last week. Having slumped at an inopportune time against the Brewers, the Cardinals ability to stand up to Atlanta over the next three days could shape how president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom approaches the MLB Trade Deadline, which lands on Aug. 3.

Jordan Walker, who was named as a participant in the Home Run Derby on Thursday, continued to be bright spot for the Cardinals by bashing a three-run home run into the second deck of seats in left field. For Walker, it pushed his career-best home run total to 22 and extended his MLB lead in RBI with 73.

"I'm super encouraged as to where he's at and with who he is becoming as a person and definitely as a player," Marmol said of Walker's surging stardom. "To quiet the noise and still go out there and be steady and consistent -- that's a really good quality that he's starting to hone in on."

After Walker's big fly got the Cards back to within 6-4, Brice Turang drilled a solo homer to center field off Luis Gastelum. The rookie reliever, who made his MLB debut on Wednesday, recorded his first big-league strikeout in the sixth inning by using his devastating changeup. However, when he was forced to go to the fastball on a 3-2 count in the seventh, Turang punished it to make it a 7-4 game.

Walker got to the plate in the eighth inning, needing another three-run shot to knot the score. However, Aaron Ashby buried a breaking ball and got Walker to chase for a key strikeout.      

Before the game was even three innings old, the Brewers already had seven hits and a commanding 6-0 lead. The pluckiness of the Brewers lineup seemed to rattle Cardinals starter Andre Pallante, who had little luck in getting the opposition off balance. And when Jake Bauers shredded a knuckle curve that popped up out of Pallante’s hand, the Brew Crew had a touchdown lead after just three innings.

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Pallante won his first four starts of June, but he has run into major problems over two of his last three starts. The Marlins tagged him for 11 hits and five earned runs on June 27, and he struggled to put away batters on Thursday in what will be his last start before the MLB All-Star Game. On Thursday, he surrendered eight hits and six earned runs over five innings with just two strikeouts. 

Standout rookie JJ Wetherholt, a pleasant surprise with his steadiness in his first season, opened the bottom of the first with a double, but he was stranded at third when Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker struck out against Milwaukee youngster Logan Henderson. Wetherholt added an infield single in the eighth inning for his 27th multi-hit game of the season. Also, it was the 40th time this season that he has led off an inning with a hit.

Burleson doubled in his second at bat and came around to score on a two-out hit by Lars Nootbaar to make it 6-1.       

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