St. Louis @ Colorado preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 24, 2018 ) St. Louis 7, Colorado 5

The St. Louis Cardinals have posted the best record in baseball this month and look to improve it when they visit the Colorado Rockies on Saturday for the middle contest of their three-game set. The Cardinals, who lead the National League wild-card race, are 18-4 in August and 4-0 on their six-game road trip after recording a series-opening 7-5 victory on Friday.

Rookie Tyler O'Neill and starting pitcher Miles Mikolas homered as St. Louis built a 7-0 lead and held on to remain three games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. Colorado pounded out 15 hits in the opener but dropped to 2-2 on its six-game homestand and trail the Cardinals by 1 1/2 games for the top wild card and the Milwaukee Brewers by one game for the second wild card. Ryan McMahon went 3-for-5 with an RBI to match his hit total from his previous nine games as the Rockies yielded more than four runs for the first time in six contests. Nolan Arenado has driven in a run in five of his last six games after belting his 31st homer of the year on Friday.

TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, FS Midwest (St. Louis), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Colorado)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH John Gant (5-5, 3.76 ERA) vs. Rockies RH German Marquez (11-9, 4.42)

Gant will be making his sixth consecutive start after bouncing between the bullpen and rotation over his first 14 appearances this season. The 26-year-old Georgian took the loss against Milwaukee on Sunday after giving up two runs on six hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings. Gant, who has worked six or more innings in only three of his 12 turns this year, will be facing Colorado for the first time in his career.

Marquez is looking to win his third straight start after allowing three runs and eight hits over 14 innings in victories at Houston and Atlanta. The 23-year-old Venezuelan has given up three runs or fewer in each of his last five outings and has gone 3-1 in that span - with the loss coming against Pittsburgh at home on Aug 8, when he surrendered three runs and 10 hits while registering 10 strikeouts in six frames. Marquez has made two career starts against St. Louis and won both as he permitted three runs and 12 hits over 10 2/3 innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Rockies CF Charlie Blackmon has registered three two-hit performances during his four-game hitting streak.

2. O'Neill has gone deep in back-to-back contests after hitting only three homers in his first 30 major-league games, with those three blasts coming in consecutive contests from May 19-21.

3. Colorado OF Matt Holliday, who began his second stint with the club with an 0-for-3 effort on Thursday, delivered a pinch-hit single in the series opener.

PREDICTION: Rockies 6, Cardinals 4