Pittsburgh @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 2, 2014 ) Pittsburgh 4, St. Louis 6

The St. Louis Cardinals continue to show the heart of a champion. After dropping four straight games, the first-place Cardinals have answered with four consecutive wins - a streak they hope will continue in Wednesday's series finale against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. St. Louis lost two of three to Pittsburgh last week but is on the verge of sweeping its division rival thanks to a 5-4 triumph on Monday and a 6-4 victory on Tuesday.

Edinson Volquez, who has been terrific over the last month, gets the nod for the Pirates, losers of three straight following a four-game winning streak. Cardinals starter Shelby Miller has been inconsistent of late, although he pitched well his last time out. Volquez is 1-1 with a 3.96 ERA against St. Louis this season, while Miller has a 4.64 ERA in four starts against Pittsburgh in 2014.

TV: 1:45 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Edinson Volquez (11-7, 3.45 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Shelby Miller (8-9, 4.19)

Volquez took a no-hitter into the seventh inning his last time out and exited after allowing one run and three hits in 7 2/3 innings of a 2-1 win over Cincinnati. Over his last five starts, the Dominican right-hander has posted a 1.65 ERA, and he has not suffered a loss since July 21 against the Dodgers. This will be Volquez's fifth start of the season against the Cardinals, who have hit just .233 against him so far in 2014.

Miller has failed to reach six innings in any of his four starts against Pittsburgh in 2014 and historically has struggled against Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Jose Tabata, Starling Marte and Russell Martin, all of whom have career averages of at least .333 against him. The 23-year-old gave up two runs in seven innings against the Chicago Cubs on Friday but did not factor into the decision in an eventual 7-2 loss. Miller also has struggled with home runs, allowing eight over his last seven starts.

WALK-OFFS

1. Pirates 3B Josh Harrison, who leads the National League with a .313 batting average, has recorded multiple hits in five of his last six games.

2. Walker is 4-for-33 (.121) since Aug. 24.

3. St. Louis sits two games ahead of second-place Milwaukee, which leads Pittsburgh by two games in both the division and wild-card races.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 4, Pirates 3