St. Louis @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 10, 2014 ) Pittsburgh 9, St. Louis 1

The St. Louis Cardinals were unable to take advantage of the golden opportunity afforded them by the Pittsburgh Pirates. After failing to gain ground as the Pirates won two of three against first-place Milwaukee over the weekend, St. Louis looks to vent its frustration when it travels to the Steel City to open a three-game series on Monday. The Cardinals dropped two of three to last-place Philadelphia to remain 1 1/2 games behind the Brewers in the National League Central while clinging to the NL's top wild card.

Despite his team's lost weekend, Jon Jay continued his torrid stretch at the plate as he is 20-for-45 (.444) while hitting safely in 14 of his last 15 contests. On the opposite end of the spectrum resides Pittsburgh rookie Gregory Polanco, who struck out three times in his team's 4-3 setback on Sunday and has one hit in his last 30 at-bats. The Pirates, who sit 1 1/2 games in back of San Francisco for the final wild card spot and five games behind Milwaukee in the Central, need all hands on deck if they wish to secure a postseason berth for the second straight year.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), ROOT (Pittsburgh)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH John Lackey (12-8, 3.88 ERA) vs. Pirates LH Francisco Liriano (3-10, 4.18)

Lackey has allowed two earned runs in three of his four outings with his new team, but walked away with a no-decision for the second straight time in his last turn. The 35-year-old has permitted five homers with St. Louis - including a two-run blast by Todd Frazier which led to his troubles versus Cincinnati on Tuesday. Lackey struggled in his lone career appearance against Pittsburgh in 2004, yielding five runs on eight hits in six innings to take the loss.

Speaking of struggling, Liriano was blitzed for season highs in both runs (nine) and hits (10) in four innings against Atlanta to suffer his third straight loss on Tuesday. The 30-year-old Dominican can hold his head high with a 4-1 career mark versus St. Louis, although he settled for a no-decision in his last meeting despite yielding three runs in five innings. Liriano continues to be plagued by a lack of control, issuing seven walks in his last two outings and 57 this season.

WALK-OFFS

1. St. Louis SS Jhonny Peralta has hit safely in 12 of his last 15 contests and is 14-for-42 (.333) with two homers in his career versus Liriano.

2. Pittsburgh OF Starling Marte homered on Sunday and has hit safely in 16 of 19 contests in August.

3. After going hitless in eight at-bats, Pirates OF Andrew McCutchen has gone deep in two of his last three games.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 4, Pirates 2