White Sox at Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals will try to get their bats going again when they return home to host the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday in the opener of a two-game Interleague set. The Cardinals entered a series at Pittsburgh on Friday ranked fourth in the National League in runs scored, but were limited to seven runs while being swept in three straight by the Pirates.
The sweep included St. Louis' first shutout loss of the year Sunday afternoon, a 5-0 setback in which the Cardinals didn't gain a hit until there were two outs in the seventh. Paul DeJong had that hit and is batting .351 with two home runs and five doubles over his last nine games for St. Louis. The White Sox won the first three contests of a five-game set against the Kansas City Royals before dropping the final two, including Sunday's 5-4 defeat. Chicago manager Rick Renteria missed Friday and Saturday's action to attend his mother's funeral services before returning for the series finale and watching his team leave 11 runners on base.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, NBCS Chicago, FS Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: White Sox RH James Shields (1-3, 6.14 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Michael Wacha (4-1, 3.62)
Shields completed six innings for the third time this season his last time out but he was knocked around for four runs on six hits and four walks in a loss to the Seattle Mariners.The 36-year-old has issued 17 free passes while striking out only 15 in his first 29 1/3 innings. Yadier Molina is 2-for-5 with a home run, a double and a walk in his career against Shields, who is 0-1 with an ERA of 8.74 in two starts against the Cardinals.
Wacha has won four consecutive starts, including three at home in which he has allowed a total of four runs in 17 2/3 innings. He fanned a season-high eight in a victory over the New York Mets on Wednesday and got through his fourth consecutive outing without allowing a home run. The 26-year-old picked up the win in his only prior meeting with the White Sox in 2015 despite giving up five runs in five innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. The teams last met in 2015, when they split four games.
2. White Sox 2B Yoan Moncada has multiple hits in four of his last eight games.
3. Cardinals CF Dexter Fowler (wrist) sat out Sunday's game in Pittsburgh but is expected to return for the series opener.