Cardinals at Phillies
After wrapping a homestand with a victory to halt a season-high four-game slide, the St. Louis Cardinals take to the road as they begin a seven-game trek on Monday with the first of three contests against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Cardinals went 2-4 during their six-game stretch at Busch Stadium, beginning it with a win over San Diego and ending it with Sunday's 5-0 triumph over the Chicago Cubs.
Matt Carpenter, who has hit safely in nine of his last 11 contests, belted a solo homer and Tommy Pham scored twice while extending his hitting streak to 11 games with a single as St. Louis saw Yadier Molina tie the major-league record for games caught for one team (1,756), which was set by Hall-of-Famer Gabby Hartnett of the Cubs. Philadelphia aims for its first three-game winning streak since mid-May after withstanding a ninth-inning rally and hanging on for a 10-9 victory at Milwaukee on Sunday. Maikel Franco went 2-for-3 with a homer and four RBIs for the Phillies, who have won consecutive series for the first time since going 8-1 against Miami, Cincinnati and Tampa Bay from April 5-15. Odubel Herrera collected three hits and scored three runs while Nick Williams delivered a two-run single to improve to 6-for-13 with four RBIs over his last five contests.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FS Midwest (St. Louis), NBCS Philadelphia
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Miles Mikolas (7-2, 2.43 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Nick Pivetta (4-6, 4.25)
After going 6-0 over the first two months of the season, Mikolas has lost two of his three starts in June - including a setback against San Diego on Tuesday in which he allowed three runs and six hits over six innings. The 29-year-old Floridian has yet to lose on the road this year, going 3-0 with a 3.41 ERA in six turns. Mikolas made his only career appearance against the Phillies in relief on May 11, 2012, when he yielded two runs on two hits and as many walks in one inning at Philadelphia while with San Diego.
Pivetta's losing streak reached four starts on Wednesday, when he was tagged for six runs on eight hits and three walks over five innings against Colorado. The 25-year-old Canadian has lost back-to-back turns at home after scattering four hits over seven scoreless frames versus Atlanta at Citizens Bank Park on May 21. Pivetta made two starts against St. Louis as a rookie last season, going 0-1 while giving up seven runs in 11 innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Herrera has gone 7-for-18 with two homers and three RBIs over his last four games.
2. St. Louis 1B Jose Martinez is expected to return from paternity leave on Monday while RHP Greg Holland (hip) will accompany the team on its road trip and likely be activated from the disabled list during the trek.
3. Philadelphia on Saturday placed Luis Garcia (wrist) on the 10-day disabled list, optioned Mark Leiter Jr. to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and recalled fellow RHPs Yacksel Rios and Jake Thompson from the IronPigs.