St. Louis @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 20, 2013 ) St. Louis 5, Philadelphia 0

The St. Louis Cardinals have faced the Phillies' Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee in their last three games. So it might seem that going against Kyle Kendrick in Sunday night's series finale in Philadelphia will be an easier task. The numbers say otherwise, though, as Kendrick is 5-1 with a 2.68 ERA against St. Louis. Kendrick will oppose Jake Westbrook, who has yet to allow an earned run this season.

The Cardinals won 5-0 on Saturday as Carlos Beltran homered for the third straight game and red-hot Yadier Molina had three more hits and is 12-for-27 in his last seven games. The Phillies have lost five of their last six games after getting an uncharacteristically poor performance from Cliff Lee on Saturday. Philadelphia could also use Ryan Howard's presence in the lineup. The slugger missed his second consecutive game Saturday because of tightness in his right groin.

TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, ESPN

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Jake Westbrook (1-1, 0.00 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Kyle Kendrick (1-1, 3.38)

Westbrook yielded four earned runs against Pittsburgh on Tuesday, but they were wiped off the books when the game was postponed because of rain. Westbrook's sinker wasn't as effective against the Pirates, but it was working in his first two starts when he allowed one unearned run while inducing 31 groundball outs in 15 2/3 innings. Michael Young is 11-for-27 against Westbrook, who is 2-1 with a 4.39 ERA in five career starts versus Philadelphia.

Kendrick allowed two hits in seven shutout innings in Philadelphia's 1-0 loss at Cincinnati on Tuesday. The 28-year-old Houston native has struggled against left-handers this season (12-for-36) and throughout his career (.293), but the Reds' Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Shin-Soo Choo and Xavier Paul were a combined 0-for-11 on Tuesday. Kendrick pitched a seven-hit shutout - one of his two career complete games - against the Cardinals in 2012.

WALK-OFFS

1. Molina is batting .481 in his last 22 games against the Phillies.

2. Young went 1-for-4 on Saturday to extend his hitting streak to 11 games.

3. Beltran, who has six home runs in his last 13 games at Citizen's Bank Park, hit his 338th career homer Saturday, tying him with the Yankees' Mark Teixeira for sixth all-time among switch hitters. Mickey Mantle leads with 536.

PREDICTION: Phillies 3, Cardinals 2