New York @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( May 13, 2013 ) NY Mets 3, St. Louis 6

The St. Louis Cardinals have been both good and lucky in winning 10 of their last 12 games. The New York Mets will be hoping some of that luck wears off when they visit the Cardinals again on Tuesday. St. Louis has gotten strong starting pitching during the bulk of its recent surge but also has benefited from some friendly bounces, like Ty Wigginton’s pinch-hit bloop double followed by a line drive off the pitcher that allowed him to score the go-ahead run on Monday.

Those unfortunate bounces have not been falling the Mets’ way much in a stretch of four straight losses. New York management stressed the improvement to the club’s defense that Rick Ankiel would provide when he was signed Monday afternoon, only to see Wigginton’s double glance off Ankiel’s glove in center field. The Mets have not scored more than three runs in any of their last seven contests but will get a chance to pick on a rookie when John Gast makes his major-league debut for the Cardinals in the second game of their four-game series.

TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, SNY (New York), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH Dillon Gee (2-4, 5.55 ERA) vs. Cardinals LH John Gast (NA)

Gee has been as inconsistent as any player on New York's roster. The right-hander has allowed fewer than two runs in three starts while surrendering at least four in each of his other four turns. One of the good ones came against Pittsburgh on Thursday, when Gee limited the damage to one run in five innings. He has made two career starts against St. Louis and owns a 1-0 record with a 2.57 ERA.

Gast is the next in line in a Cardinals system that has been churning out promising young pitchers at a high rate over the past year. Rookie Shelby Miller set down 27 straight batters in a win over the Colorado Rockies last weekend, while starting prospects Trevor Rosenthal, Joe Kelly and Carlos Martinez have helped stabilize the bullpen. Gast does not have quite the same power stuff as those four right-handers but opened his Triple-A campaign with 32 consecutive scoreless innings and impressed St. Louis during spring training.

WALK-OFFS

1. Gast is taking over the rotation spot vacated by Jake Westbrook, who was placed on the disabled list with elbow inflammation.

2. New York C John Buck is 2-for-25 with 13 strikeouts in his last seven games.

3. St. Louis RH Chris Carpenter (nerve irritation) threw a bullpen session on Monday and is bidding to return as a reliever.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 6, Mets 4