DENVER -- How big can a series in the middle of August really be?

For the Cardinals and Brewers, who will meet for the opener of a three-game set at Busch Stadium on Friday night, the answer is: very big.

The two clubs are separated by half a game in the National League Central after the Cardinals lost to the Rockies, 8-6, at Coors Field on Thursday afternoon, with St. Louis clinging to the slimmest of leads over Milwaukee atop the division standings. 

An August surge has vaulted the Cards into first place as the Brewers have fallen on hard times since the Aug. 2 Trade Deadline -- Milwaukee is 3-5 since trading star closer Josh Hader to San Diego, though the Brewers swept a two-game series from the Rays earlier this week. Meanwhile, despite dropping two of three in Colorado, the Cardinals have won 10 of their past 13.

Every game these two evenly matched clubs play head to head is critical. This is especially true in 2022 because there is no such thing as Game 163 anymore -- if two clubs finish tied atop the division standings, the head-to-head record will be the first tiebreaker.

Interestingly, the clubs seem to be approaching the imminent NL Central showdown in very different ways. Take Brewers outfielder Andrew McCutchen, who has been involved in a pennant race or two in his day, and Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol, who has his club in prime position for a postseason berth in his first year at the helm in St. Louis.

Here’s McCutchen after Wednesday’s walk-off win over Tampa Bay:

“We’d be lying if we said we weren’t looking at it. Everyone looks at it. You can’t help but see it.”

And here’s Marmol after Thursday’s hard-fought loss at Coors Field despite a late comeback effort:

“I don’t believe in big series. This was a big series. The Yankees series was a big series. Milwaukee’s coming to town. Our goal is to beat them. That’s it.”

The two clubs have faced off 12 times so far this season, and each has won six. They’ve split four in St. Louis and they’ve split eight in Milwaukee. The Cardinals have scored 48 runs in those 12 games, and the Brewers have scored 44. So it’s fitting that just as the last time they met back in June, they are neck-and-neck atop the NL Central.

Nolan Arenado represented the go-ahead run at the plate with two outs in the ninth inning against Rockies closer Daniel Bard on Thursday, with record-breaking temperatures approaching 100 degrees in Denver. He had already launched his 24th homer of the season in the eighth inning, going back-to-back with fellow MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt, who smashed a two-run homer for his 27th long ball of the year.

Arenado was having a great series against his former club. He was 5-for-13 with two doubles, two homers and three beautiful defensive plays. But in this at-bat, Bard froze Arenado with a 90 mph slider on the outside corner. As he walked back to the dugout in defeat, the next item on the docket was Milwaukee. Still, Arenado said he didn’t have Friday circled on his calendar as anything of extraordinary significance.

“Losing a series like we did today, it’s frustrating. But knowing what’s ahead you have to move on,” Arenado said. “[But that being said,] we’re an organization that expects to be in the division race every year. This is where we expect to be.”

Last year, the Brewers claimed the division crown. And Arenado, who has yet to taste what it’s like to win a division in his 10-year MLB career, doesn’t buy into the idea that Milwaukee has faltered because it dealt its shutdown closer. He expects the race to continue to be a dogfight through the dog days of August and down the home stretch.

So, while it’s business as usual for the Cardinals heading into Friday, that business is winning, and winning doesn’t come easy.

“I know who their starting pitchers are,” Arenado said with a knowing smile. “They’ve got great starters, and they’ve still got a great bullpen. I don’t look into that, I try not to. I know Josh is a great pitcher and arguably the best closer in the game, but the Brewers are just good.

“But we’re good, too. It’s always been tough against them, neck-and-neck. [This weekend,] I don’t expect anything less.”