The Milwaukee Brewers are set to receive a timely boost to their injury-hit pitching staff as rookie right-hander Logan Henderson is expected to return from the injured list to start Thursday night’s finale of a five-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
Henderson enters the matchup with a 2-1 record and a 2.74 ERA this season after an impressive start to his major league career. The 24-year-old has not pitched since May 22, when he delivered five scoreless innings while allowing just two hits in Milwaukee’s 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Four days after that outing, the promising rookie was placed on the 15-day injured list because of a lower back strain.
Ranked as the No. 7 prospect in the Brewers organization by MLB Pipeline, Henderson has quickly established himself as one of Milwaukee’s most dependable young starters. Since making his major league debut in April 2025, he has compiled a 5-1 record with an outstanding 2.23 ERA, striking out 63 batters across 48 1/3 innings in his first 10 big league starts. Thursday’s game will also mark Henderson’s first career appearance against the Cardinals.
His return comes at a critical time for Milwaukee, whose starting rotation has been plagued by injuries. Veteran Brandon Woodruff was recently placed back on the injured list after an MRI revealed he had re-injured the same shoulder that required surgery in 2023. Woodruff exited his previous start against the Arizona Diamondbacks after only 3 2/3 innings, creating another significant void in the Brewers’ rotation.
The club also has concerns surrounding left-hander Kyle Harrison, who lasted just four innings during Wednesday’s 5-1 loss to St. Louis before experiencing soreness. Although the severity of Harrison’s condition remains unclear, Brewers manager Pat Murphy emphasized that the organization intends to be cautious with its young pitchers.
“We’re going to protect these young starters,” Murphy said following Wednesday’s defeat.
Milwaukee’s offense also struggled in the series’ fourth game, producing one of its quietest performances in over a month. The Brewers managed only one run in the loss, marking their weakest offensive showing since being shut out by the San Francisco Giants on June 3.
Manager Pat Murphy elected to rest two key contributors in Wednesday’s lineup, including second baseman Brice Turang and outfielder Sal Frelick. Frelick later appeared as a pinch hitter, while Turang received his first scheduled day off since June 14 after starting 87 of Milwaukee’s first 92 games this season.
Turang has been one of the Brewers’ hottest hitters in July, batting .333 (12-for-36) over eight games while collecting six doubles, four runs scored and six RBIs.
“My whole gist of today was, rest Turang,” Murphy explained. “He’s played a lot of baseball, and he would never ask for the day, but we’re going to give him that day.”
Despite Wednesday’s setback ending Milwaukee’s four-game winning streak, the Brewers have already secured both the five-game series and the season series against St. Louis. Milwaukee captured the first three games of the set and has now won seven of the first nine meetings between the National League Central rivals this year.
The Cardinals, meanwhile, will hand the ball to right-hander Andre Pallante, who enters the finale with a 10-5 record and a solid 3.60 ERA. Pallante has been one of St. Louis’ most consistent starters lately, winning five of his last six outings.
His most recent appearance came in a dominant 17-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs, where he tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings, scattered five hits, struck out two and issued just one walk.
However, Pallante has historically struggled against Milwaukee. In 16 career appearances, including four starts, the 27-year-old remains winless against the Brewers with an 0-3 record and a 5.45 ERA.
St. Louis also received an encouraging offensive performance from first baseman Alec Burleson in Wednesday’s victory. Burleson finished 2-for-4 with a double and a home run after enduring a difficult stretch in which he batted just .186 (8-for-43) over his previous 13 games, recording one homer, six RBIs and nine strikeouts.
His production was especially significant because it came against left-handed pitching, an area where Burleson has struggled throughout the season. Entering the game, he was batting just .194 with two home runs and 18 RBIs against southpaws.
“We’ve talked about Burly left-on-left, and he’s working really hard at it,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said.
Although the Cardinals snapped a four-game losing streak with Wednesday’s victory, they will now look to salvage the series finale against a Brewers club hoping Henderson’s return can provide another strong outing as Milwaukee continues navigating injuries within its starting rotation.
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