Seattle @ St. Louis preview
Busch Stadium
The St. Louis Cardinals are eager to get back home, and they hope returning to Busch Stadium will help them get back on top of the NL Central standings, too.
The Cardinals finished up a 1-5 on road trip with a 7-5 loss Sunday at the Arizona Diamondbacks, and they slipped 1 1/2 games back of the Cincinnati Reds while away from Busch Stadium, where they're 19-10 this season.
St. Louis has lost six of seven overall, a trend it will look to turn around when it begins a three-game home series against the Seattle Mariners on Monday.
The Cardinals have struggled at the plate during their recent hard times, though they showed signs of snapping out of their offensive funk late in Sunday's game.
After hitting .194 as a team in its previous six games, St. Louis racked up 14 hits Sunday and rallied to score two runs in the seventh and three in the ninth to tie it before Chris Young's walk-off homer sent them to another defeat.
Albert Pujols had two hits and three RBIs to snap a 1-for-18 skid, and Colby Rasmus had multiple hits for the seventh time in 12 games. Rasmus is 17-for-43 with four homers and 11 RBIs during that stretch.
The last-place Mariners snapped a five-game losing streak with a 4-2 win Sunday at the San Diego Padres, but they've lost eight of 10 to fall 11 games behind the AL West-leading Texas Rangers. Their 9-22 road record is the second-worst in the American League and the third-worst in the majors.
Seattle's offense has been putrid all season - it ranks 13th among 14 American League teams in runs and batting average and last in home runs - and especially in June. The Mariners haven't scored more than four runs in a game since a 7-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on June 1.
That bodes well for Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright. Wainwright (8-4, 2.30 ERA) has posted quality starts in 11 of 13 outings this season, but he was roughed up a bit his last time out. He took the loss Wednesday at Los Angeles, allowing four runs on eight hits over six innings. He also walked five and struck out six.
The lackluster outing came on the heels of a four-start stretch in which Wainwright posted a 1.20 ERA in 30 innings and struck out 36 while walking seven.
He will try to regain that form on Monday against a struggling Mariners lineup. Only three Seattle regulars - Ichiro Suzuki, Franklin Gutierrez and Josh Wilson - boast averages over .250. Suzuki has hit safely in 17 consecutive interleague games.
When the Mariners have won, they've often had to do it with pitching, and they'll turn to 24-year-old left-hander Luke French in that department on Monday.
French (0-0, 6.35 ERA) will make his first start of the season after two relief appearances. He was extended to 5 1/3 innings out of the bullpen Wednesday at Texas, allowing four runs on seven hits.
He made 12 starts last year - five for the Detroit Tigers and seven for the Mariners - and went 4-5 with a 5.21 ERA.