Philadelphia @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 2, 2011 ) St. Louis 5, Philadelphia 4

THE STORY: The St. Louis Cardinals didn't give up when they were 10 1/2 games out of a postseason berth in late August - so they certainly weren't going to wave the white towel after falling into a four-run deficit on Sunday. Tony La Russa's club came through with key hits and used a brilliant performance by its bullpen to gain a split of their National League Division Series with the Philadelphia Phillies. The series now shifts to the Gateway City with the wild-card Cardinals brimming with confidence and the NL East champion Phillies on their heels. St. Louis lefthander Jaime Garcia will take the mound against southpaw Cole Hamels in Game 3 on Tuesday.

TV: 5:07 p.m. ET, TBS

PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies LH Cole Hamels (14-9, 2.79 ERA) vs. Cardinals LH Jaime Garcia (13-7, 3.56 ERA)

Hamels will vie for his first win in nearly a month when he takes the mound on Tuesday. The 2008 World Series MVP has fared well on the road, posting a 7-3 mark away from Citizens Bank Park this season. Hamels is just 2-3 in his career versus the Cardinals, dropping his lone outing on Sept. 18. He permitted four runs on seven hits in seven innings in a 5-0 loss.

Garcia won three in a row to finish the season with a flourish. The 25-year-old Mexican has posted a 2-1 career mark against the Phillies, but settled for a pair of no-decisions this season. He yielded just one run in both respective outings on May 17 and Sept. 16 - with both contests eventually won by the Cardinals.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS: La Russa used an in-game television interview to fire up his club. With Philadelphia leading 4-0, the Cardinals skipper publicly complained about the strike zone - a move which will likely result in a slap on the wrist by the league but also slapped some sense into the Cardinals. Albert Pujols, who is nursing a sore right heel, delivered the final blow with a run-scoring single in the seventh to give his team a 5-4 victory. Pujols has struggled versus Hamels - going 4-for-23 in his career - but launched a mammoth first-inning homer in their last outing on Sept. 18. Ryan Theriot, who had two hits on Sunday, is 7-for-21 in his career versus Hamels.

ABOUT THE PHILLIES: Ryan Howard is having a significantly better postseason in 2011 than he had in 2010. The slugger ripped a two-run single in Game 2 to increase his total to six RBIs in the NLDS. Last year, Howard did not have an RBI in nine postseason games. Jimmy Rollins went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two runs scored on Sunday. He is now 5-for-8 with five runs scored in the series. Both Howard and Rollins have struggled against Garcia, going 2-for-11 and 1-for-11, respectively.

FINAL PITCH: While stepping up defensively, Placido Polanco and Carlos Ruiz have stepped back at the plate. The pair is a combined 0-for-16 in the series with five strikeouts. Both players are 0-for-8, with Polanco fanning three times.