St. Louis @ Chicago preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 22, 2014 ) St. Louis 8, Chi. Cubs 0

With clinching their fourth consecutive postseason already under their belts, the St. Louis Cardinals are steamrolling their way toward their second straight division title. The Cardinals vie for their ninth win in 11 outings and look to cut into their magic number of four to claim the National League Central title when they continue their three-game series versus the host Chicago Cubs on Tuesday. Matt Holliday collected two hits and scored twice in Monday's 8-0 triumph for St. Louis, which leads second-place Pittsburgh by 2 1/2 games.

Chicago resides much further down the AL Central standings - the cellar, to be exact - and understandably has turned its attention toward a youth movement. Jorge Soler had a single in the series opener and improved to 7-for-23 during the homestand. A small sample size to be certain, but the 22-year-old Cuban is 2-for-2 with a homer against Tuesday starter Shelby Miller.

TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, FSN (St. Louis), WCIU (Chicago)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Shelby Miller (10-9, 3.68 ERA) vs. Cubs RH Kyle Hendricks (7-2, 2.28)

Miller has been dominant in his last four outings, yielding two earned runs over 26 innings during that span. The 23-year-old settled for a no-decision despite allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits in six frames against Milwaukee on Thursday. Miller received the same fate in his last meeting with the Cubs on Aug. 29 despite permitting two runs on four hits in seven innings.

Hendricks improved to 6-1 in his last nine outings after allowing one run on seven hits in as many innings for a 3-1 triumph over Cincinnati on Wednesday. The 24-year-old has not surrendered a home run in each of his last five starts and has only yielded three in 75 frames this season. Hendricks suffered a hard-luck loss in a 1-0 setback to St. Louis on July 27, but also pitched well in a no-decision against the club on Aug. 29.

WALK-OFFS

1. Holliday is 8-for-21 with a homer and three runs scored during his five-game hitting streak.

2. Chicago needs to emerge victorious in the final two games of this series to finish with a winning record at home for the first time since 2009.

3. St. Louis 1B Matt Adams had a two-run single in his return from a two-game absence due to a stomach bug, but is 0-for-6 in his career versus Hendricks.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 6, Cubs 1