Houston @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 9, 2013 ) Houston 5, St. Louis 9

Back-to-back visits from baseball's two worst teams have helped the St. Louis Cardinals regain a bit of their swagger and reclaim the best record in the majors. The Cardinals aim for their fifth consecutive victory when they complete an abbreviated two-game series against the Houston Astros on Wednesday. St. Louis, which had lost eight of 11 before sweeping Miami over the weekend, pounded out 15 hits Tuesday to open a 1 1/2-game lead over Pittsburgh in the National League Central.

The Cardinals have dominated the league-worst Astros at Busch Stadium, winning seven consecutive matchups. Houston provided little resistance until scoring four ninth-inning runs Tuesday en route to their major league-worst 58th defeat. The Astros have lost nine of their last 11, and their pitching continues to get worked over, surrendering 57 runs in eight games in July.

TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, CSN (Houston), Fox Sports Midwest (St. Louis)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros RH Jordan Lyles (4-3, 3.87 ERA) vs.Cardinals RH Shelby Miller (9-6, 2.80)

Lyles bounced back from consecutive rocky outings by holding Tampa Bay to two runs on six hits in 6 2/3 innings last time out, although his winless streak reached three starts. He had allowed two or fewer runs in seven straight starts before consecutive losses to the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels. The 22-year-old will be facing the Cardinals for the first time.

Miller halted a two-start losing streak in his last turn with six innings of two-run ball in a 12-2 win at the Los Angeles Angels. He had been blasted for nine runs over 7 1/3 innings in his previous two starts against Oakland and Texas. The 22-year-old Miller has been much tougher at home, logging a 5-2 record with a 1.59 ERA and 0.84 WHIP while holding opponents to a .191 batting average

WALK-OFFS

1. Cardinals 1B Allen Craig is riding a nine-game hitting streak and is second in the NL with 71 RBIs.

2. Astros SS Ronny Cedeno left Tuesday's game after fouling a ball off his big toe and is listed as day-to-day.

3. Cardinals lefty reliever Kevin Siegrist turned in his 12th straight scoreless appearance to start his career, a franchise record.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 6, Astros 3