St. Louis @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 27, 2010 ) St. Louis 2, NY Mets 8

Life on the road has not been kind to the St. Louis Cardinals of late and that could spell trouble as the New York Mets have been enjoying the comforts of home. Losers of four of their last five, the Cardinals look to get back on track Wednesday when they meet the Mets in the second of three games at Citi Field. St. Louis reeled off eight straight wins before their current slide, which started with a pair of losses to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. St. Louis avoided the sweep against the Cubs and had Adam Wainwright going on Tuesday, but it was not nearly enough to keep the Mets in check. Wainwright had given up just one run in his last five starts and had a 26-inning scoreless streak going before getting roughed up in an 8-2 loss to the Mets. It was a surprise in that New York was coming off an 11-game road trip in which they went 2-9 and were shut out four times. What a difference Citi Field has made for the Mets. New York has won 17 of its last 24 home games and needs to keep some momentum going. The Mets are 6 1/2 out of first in the National League East but also have the red-hot Philadelphia Phillies between themselves and the Atlanta Braves. After finishing up with the Cards, the Mets get a crack at the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks before a road trip to Atlanta and Philadelphia. Wainwright started Tuesday on his normal rest and the Cardinals moved back Wednesday's starter Jaime Garcia so he will be working on six days of rest when he faces the Mets. Garcia (9-4, 2.21 ERA) pitched only 37 2/3 innings last year but is at 110 this season already. He hasn't shown any ill effects to date, and is coming off a start against the Phillies where he allowed a run and four hits in seven innings. The Mets counter with Hisanori Takahashi, who is coming off a start that likely kept him in the rotation. Takahashi (7-5, 4.52) had given up six runs in three of four starts before a solid performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday when he allowed two runs and three hits in seven innings. His strong outing was wasted as the Mets were blanked 2-0 but it likely earned him Wednesday's start against the Cards. Takahashi is making his first start against St. Louis.
New York will be without left fielder Jason Bay, who was diagnosed with a mild concussion and will be out at least a couple of days. Bay was hurt Friday night when he crashed into a wall while making a catch at Dodger Stadium.