St. Louis @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( May 10, 2016 ) St. Louis 8, LA Angels 1

The Los Angeles Angels continue their quest for the first victory of their six-game homestand when they face the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday in the middle contest of their three-game interleague series. Los Angeles was swept of a three-game home set by Tampa Bay before suffering an 8-1 setback in the opener against St. Louis.

Mike Trout continues to hit with regularity, as he has been held without a hit in only eight of his 31 games. St. Louis kicked off its six-game road trip with a 14-hit attack that featured a three-hit performance by Matt Holliday. The slugger belted his third home run of the season Tuesday, ending his 16-game drought, and drove in a pair of runs to match his RBI total from the previous 11 games. Holliday added a pair of doubles, giving him three extra-base hits in a contest for the first time since July 11, 2014.

TV: 10:05 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), FSN West (Los Angeles)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals LH Jaime Garcia (2-2, 3.05 ERA) vs. Angels RH Matt Shoemaker (1-4, 9.15)

Garcia halted his three-start winless streak on Thursday, limiting Philadelphia to two hits while striking out five in seven scoreless innings. It was the second scoreless outing of the season for the 29-year-old Mexican, who recorded 13 strikeouts while tossing a one-hitter against Milwaukee on April 14. Garcia, who never has faced Los Angeles, has posted a 5.73 ERA and 1.73 WHIP in two road starts this year but has escaped without a decision each time.

Shoemaker has struggled mightily of late, losing each of his last three starts while surrendering seven runs in each of the last two. The 29-year-old native of Michigan has worked more than three innings only twice in his five turns and has served up at least one homer in all but one outing. Shoemaker, who will be facing St. Louis for the first time in his career, has been awful at home this season as he has yielded 13 runs - 12 earned - on 13 hits and six walks over six frames in a pair of losses.

WALK-OFFS

1. After learning SS Andrelton Simmons would require thumb surgery that likely would sideline him for a minimum of two months, the Angels acquired SS Brendan Ryan from Washington on Tuesday for a player to be named or cash considerations.

2. St. Louis RHP Carlos Martinez will have his scheduled start pushed back to Saturday as he recovers from an illness that affected him in his previous two outings.

3. Los Angeles DH Albert Pujols is three home runs away from tying Rafael Palmeiro (569) for 12th place on the all-time list and needs one blast in the series against his former team to become the ninth active player to have gone deep versus all 30 clubs.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 6, Angels 2