(Sports Network) - The Milwaukee Brewers are back at home after a lengthy road trip, and they will try to stop a six-game slide tonight in the first of four straight games versus the St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park.

Milwaukee went 2-7 on a nine-game road swing and suffered back-to-back sweeps at the hands of Houston and Florida. In Thursday's finale of a three-game series with the Marlins at Dolphin Stadium, Brewers starter Carlos Villanueva took the loss after allowing seven runs on 10 hits in five innings of a 7-2 setback.

Joe Dillon and J.J. Hardy each collected two hits for Milwaukee, which will open a seven-game homestand versus the Cardinals and Dodgers tonight.

Left-hander Manny Parra will try to pitch Milwaukee back into the win column on Friday, and he is 1-2 with a 5.86 ERA in six starts this season. Parra last pitched on Saturday at Houston, allowing six runs -- five earned -- and nine hits in four innings of work.

Parra has recorded two no decisions against St. Louis this season and is 0-0 with a 4.08 earned run average in four career games (three starts) against the Cardinals.

St. Louis will resume an eight-game road trip on Friday, and just lost the last two tests of a four-game series against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. In Thursday's 9-3 loss in the series finale, Ryan Ludwick homered twice and Yadier Molina added an RBI for the Cardinals.

Cards starter Kyle Lohse was tagged with the loss after giving up eight hits and seven runs with five walks and four strikeouts in four innings.

The Cardinals will hand the ball to Todd Wellemeyer this evening, and he is 3-1 with a 4.07 ERA in seven starts this season. Wellemeyer last took the hill on Sunday versus the Chicago Cubs, and posted the win with five innings of two-run ball.

Wellemeyer, a right-hander, is 0-1 with an 11.00 earned run average in seven career relief appearances against the Brewers.

St. Louis is 3-2 against Milwaukee this season and 31-21 in the series since the start of the 2005 campaign.