St. Louis @ Kansas City preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 26, 2010 ) St. Louis 5, Kansas City 3

A day after getting a strong effort from an emergency starter, the St. Louis Cardinals will look to get the same from one of its best.

The Cardinals go for yet another series win against an American League club when they face the Kansas City Royals on Sunday in the finale of a three-game interleague series.

St. Louis got a lift from Blake Hawksworth, who pitched into the sixth and allowed just two runs and two hits in a St. Louis’ 5-3 victory on Saturday. Normally a reliever, Hawksworth walked one and recorded one strikeout en route to his second win of the season.

The Cardinals won't need their starting pitcher to exceed expectations today. They will just need Jaime Garcia to do exactly what he has been all season long.

Garcia (7-3, 1.79 ERA) has lost just once in his last eight starts and ranks second in the National League in ERA behind Ubaldo Jiménez of Colorado.

St. Louis has won each of their four series against American League teams this season, taking two out of three games each time. The Cardinals have a good chance to do the same at Kauffman Stadium behind Garcia, who is 5-2 with an ERA of 2.09 away from home. In his last five road starts Garcia is 4-0 with a no-decision.

Bruce Chen (3-2, 3.96) gets the start for the Royals.

Chen has lost two straight starts but he has only given up six runs - five earned - in 11 2/3 innings. The problem has been the Kansas City offense, which has scored just three runs in Chen's last two outings.

Chen shouldn't take it personally, though. Kansas City has had offensive problems in a number of games lately. The Royals have not homered as a team in a week, the longest streak of homerless games since they failed to go deep in eight straight games in the 2000 season.

Jose Guillen has been trying to do his part at the plate and has a career-high 20-game hit streak going. Guillen is batting nearly .370 during the streak, which is tied for the longest in baseball this season with Texas' Josh Hamilton.

The Royals should have a chance to fare better in the series finale against the Cardinals. The loss dropped Kansas City to 1-11 in Saturday games this season. The Royals are 28-31 on the other six days of the week.