St. Louis @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 1, 2018 ) Atlanta 6, St. Louis 5

The Atlanta Braves look to maintain their sizeable cushion in the National League East when they host the playoff-contending St. Louis Cardinals on Monday for the opener of their three-game series, with another big test looming over their final 10 contests of the regular season. The Braves lead second-place Philadelphia by 6 1/2 games in the East but play seven of their last 10 against the Phillies, with a three-game set versus he pesky New York Mets sandwiched in between.

Atlanta, which has not been to the postseason since 2013, lost one game off its lead over the weekend after dropping back-to-back contests to visiting Washington, which has crept within 7 1/2 games of the division leader. Mike Foltynewicz hopes to match his last effort against St. Louis, an outing in which he allowed one hit and registered nine strikeouts over five scoreless innings on July 1, as he gets the ball for the Braves while the Cardinals counter with 15-game winner Miles Mikolas. St. Louis snapped its four-game losing streak with a 5-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday that put the clubs in a tie for the second wild card spot in the NL with 12 contests remaining for both. Marcell Ozuna homered among three hits in the victory for the Cardinals, improving to 19-for-49 with six blasts and 14 RBIs over his last 12 games.

TV: 7:35 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FS Midwest (St. Louis), FS Southeast (Atlanta)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Miles Mikolas (15-4, 2.99 ERA) vs. Braves RH Mike Foltynewicz (11-9, 2.66)

Mikolas limited Pittsburgh to one run on five hits and one walk over seven innings on Tuesday to open the month with back-to-back wins. The 30-year-old Floridian has held opponents to fewer than three runs 11 times in his last 15 starts, including a loss to Atlanta on June 29 in which he gave up one over 6 1/3 frames. Johan Camargo and Dansby Swanson are 2-for-3 versus Mikolas, who is 8-0 with a 3.86 ERA in 14 road starts this season.

Foltynewicz has been dominant in his first two starts of September, permitting two runs on eight hits and three walks with 12 strikeouts over 15 innings. The 26-year-old native of Illinois has yielded fewer than two earned runs in six of his last seven outings, including his second career complete game on Tuesday at San Francisco in which he gave up one. Kolten Wong is 3-for-5 versus Foltynewicz, who is 2-2 with a 7.13 ERA against St. Louis.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Cardinals clinched their 11th consecutive winning season on Sunday, a feat they accomplished only once before (15 straight from 1939-53).

2. Atlanta rookie 2B Ozzie Albies needs one run to become the first to reach 100 for the team since 1B Freddie Freeman in 2016.

3. The Braves swept a three-game set at St. Louis from June 29-July 1 but have dropped the last six meetings at home.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 3, Braves 2