St. Louis @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 16, 2016 ) St. Louis 8, Houston 5

The St. Louis Cardinals have regained their footing after stumbling out of the blocks to begin a nine-game road trip. The Cardinals will vie for their fourth straight win and a sweep of an abbreviated two-game interleague series with the Houston Astros on Wednesday afternoon when the clubs reconvene at Minute Maid Park.

St. Louis answered back-to-back losses to the Chicago Cubs by erupting for 22 runs en route to winning its last three contests, highlighted by Jedd Gyorko going deep in Tuesday's 8-5 victory over the Astros. Gyorko is 6-for-17 with three homers, six RBIs and four runs scored during the road trip for the Cardinals, who have ridden strong play away from Busch Stadium (35-23) to a one-game lead over Miami for the National League's second wild-card spot. Although Houston suffered its third straight loss, Jose Altuve continued to bolster his bid for an MVP Award by going 3-for-5 in the series opener to improve to 25-for-59 in August and boost his batting average to a major league-best .365. The dimunitive All-Star, who reached the 1,000-hit plateau faster than any player in franchise history, has torched the Cardinals in his career - batting .374 in 27 encounters.

TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), ROOT (Houston)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Carlos Martinez (10-7, 3.34 ERA) vs. Astros RH Doug Fister (11-7, 3.61)

Martinez saw his winless skid extend to three contests on Thursday despite allowing three runs and six hits in a no-decision at Chicago. The 24-year-old Dominican has made himself at home on the road with a 6-1 record while limiting the opposition to a .216 batting average. Martinez has yet to face Houston in his young career but boasts a 1.43 ERA in interleague play.

Fister recorded his 11th win despite yielding five runs and eight hits in a 15-7 victory at Minnesota on Thursday. The 32-year-old has been taken deep in each of his last two outings after keeping the ball in the park in each of his previous five turns. Fister evened his record against the Cardinals at 1-1 after permitting two runs and five hits in 7 1/3 innings to pick up the win in his last encounter.

WALK-OFFS

1. St. Louis veteran OF Matt Holliday is slated to undergo surgery on his right thumb Wednesday.

2. Houston SS Carlos Correa has hit safely in 11 straight games and 14 of his 15 contests this month.

3. Cardinals 1B Brandon Moss has collected five hits - including two homers - three RBIs and four runs scored in his last three games.

PREDICTION: Astros 3, Cardinals 2