St. Louis @ Milwaukee preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 29, 2016 ) St. Louis 6, Milwaukee 5

The St. Louis Cardinals could badly use a turnaround from veteran right-hander Adam Wainwright to further their chances of securing a National League wild-card spot. Wainwright is mired in a stretch of seven consecutive winless starts as St. Louis enters Tuesday's contest against the host Milwaukee Brewers.

Wainwright is 0-3 with a 6.38 ERA during the victory drought with the three defeats coming in his last four turns. He will look to help the Cardinals record their second straight win in the three-game series as well as help them protect their 1 1/2-game lead over Pittsburgh for the NL's second wild card. The red-hot Jedd Gyorko continued his August splurge by hitting a solo homer in Monday's 6-5 victory - his eighth blast in the last 15 games and ninth for the month. Milwaukee's Ryan Braun has belted 10 homers this month but hasn't gone deep or driven in a run during the club's five-game losing streak.

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

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Adam Wainwright (9-8, 4.67 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Wily Peralta (5-9, 5.87)

Wainwright always has fared well against the Brewers, posting a 13-8 record and 2.23 ERA in 33 career appearances (26 starts) - including a victory on July 2 in which he pitched seven scoreless innings. He has held Braun (two homers) to a .216 average and struck him out 20 times in 74 at-bats. Wainwright has allowed six or more total runs in three of his last four outings, but only two of the seven runs were earned when he gave up nine hits in five innings while losing to the New York Mets in his last turn.

Peralta is 1-2 with a 3.52 ERA in four starts since returning to the majors from Triple-A Colorado Springs. He settled for a no-decision in his last turn, when he allowed two runs and five hits in five innings against Pittsburgh. Peralta yielded three runs and nine hits over five innings in a loss to the Cardinals on May 31 to drop to 4-10 with a 5.02 ERA in 15 career starts versus St. Louis and has struggled with Matt Carpenter (18-for-38, three homers).

WALK-OFFS

1. The Cardinals placed RHP Mike Leake (shingles) on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 22, and recalled LHP Dean Kiekhefer from Triple-A Memphis.

2. Milwaukee RHP Junior Guerra (elbow) will be activated to start Friday's game against Pittsburgh.

3. St. Louis All-Star SS Aledmys Diaz (fractured thumb) is close to beginning a rehab assignment.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 5, Brewers 4