St. Louis @ Milwaukee preview

Last Meeting ( May 30, 2016 ) St. Louis 6, Milwaukee 0

Pitching had been a trouble spot for the St. Louis Cardinals, but the rotation is starting to find a groove as the team continues a three-game series against the host Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night. Another strong start paved the way for a 6-0 victory Monday as St. Louis improved to 3-2 on its seven-game road trip.

Mike Leake, who has been sensational since a rocky start to the season, will take the mound Tuesday against struggling Milwaukee right-hander Wily Peralta. Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday homered among his three hits Monday and is 8-for-12 with a pair of blasts and four RBIs over the past three games. Brewers left field Ryan Braun has sat out two straight games due to an ailing neck and has missed nine of the past 15 games. It was only the second loss in seven games overall for Milwaukee, which has dropped four in a row to St. Louis at Miller Park.

TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Mike Leake (3-4, 3.90 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Wily Peralta (3-5, 6.62)

Even though he had his three-start winning streak halted, Leake is coming off another strong performance with seven innings of two-run ball at Washington. A pair of solo homers by the Nationals victimized Leake, who has surrendered four runs over 28 innings in his last four turns. Leake is 2-4 with a 4.72 ERA in 11 starts against the Brewers, including a no-decision on April 13 in which he allowed four runs and eight hits in six innings.

Peralta has managed to string together a pair of decent outings, which represents progress for a pitcher who has yet to go beyond six innings in any of his 10 starts. The 27-year-old Dominican picked up the victory at Atlanta last time out, giving up two runs over 5 1/3 innings, which followed 5 2/3 innings of three-run ball in a loss to the Mets. Matt Carpenter is 16-for-35 with three homers off Peralta, who is 4-9 with a 5.00 ERA against St. Louis.

WALK-OFFS

1. After going 1-for-10 in his first two games since coming off the paternity list, Carpenter had four hits and scored three runs Monday.

2. Brewers C Jonathan Lucroy is 7-for-14 with nine RBIs during a four-game hitting streak.

3. Cardinals CF Stephen Piscotty is expected back in the lineup Tuesday after missing Monday's game with a stomach bug.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 4, Brewers 2