St. Louis @ Oakland preview

St. Louis at Oakland

Last Meeting ( Jun 28, 2013 ) St. Louis 1, Oakland 6

The Oakland Athletics look to make it four wins in a row Saturday, when they host the St. Louis Cardinals in the middle contest of their three-game interleague series. Oakland followed a 4-2 homestand by dropping five of seven on the road. The Athletics returned home to sweep a brief two-game set against the Cincinnati Reds before cruising to a 6-1 triumph over St. Louis in Friday's opener.

Bartolo Colon extended his winning streak to eight starts, tossing eight strong innings to notch his 11th victory of the season - his highest total since going 21-8 and winning the American League Cy Young Award in 2005 while with the Los Angeles Angels. St. Louis fell to 1-2 on its eight-game road trip and lost for the fifth time in six overall contests. The Cardinals, who fell one game behind Pittsburgh for first place in the National League Central, are 13-13 this month after going 20-7 in May.

TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Midwest (St. Louis), Comcast SportsNet California (Oakland)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Adam Wainwright (10-5, 2.31 ERA) vs. Athletics RH Jarrod Parker (6-6, 4.27)

Wainwright is unbeaten on the road since losing his season debut at Arizona on April 1, going 7-0 with a no-decision. The 31-year-old is coming off his second straight loss, a home defeat to Texas in which he yielded two runs - one earned - and six hits in 6 2/3 innings. Wainwright limited Oakland to an unearned run over eight frames en route to victory in his only career start against the Athletics on June 19, 2010.

Parker is looking to extend his winning streak to five games. The 24-year-old settled for a no-decision at Seattle on Sunday after yielding three runs in seven innings. Parker, who is 3-3 with a 4.88 ERA in eight home starts this season, never has faced the Cardinals.

WALK-OFFS

1. Parker has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his last nine starts.

2. St. Louis C Yadier Molina's NL-leading batting average dropped to .352 after his 0-for-4 performance on Friday.

3. Oakland C Stephen Vogt belted a solo home run Friday after going hitless in his first 32 major-league at-bats.

PREDICTION: Athletics 4, Cardinals 2