St. Louis @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 16, 2015 ) Minnesota 2, St. Louis 3

The St. Louis Cardinals earned a pair of 3-2 victories over the Twins at home and are hoping to stay in the win column when the series shifts to Minnesota. Winners of five in a row, the Cardinals will host the first of two games that will close out the four-game, home-and-home interleague series on Wednesday.

It was revealed on Tuesday that St. Louis was the subject of an FBI probe into possible computer hacking, but the players certainly did not seem to take that baggage onto the field. "We're cooperating and I think (the players) understand it really has nothing to do with us inside the clubhouse right now," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny told reporters. "Our job is to stay focused on what we can do each day, and let that process take care of itself." The Twins are losers of seven of their last eight games and are 4-11 in June after going 20-7 in May. Minnesota will try to pull out of the funk behind left-hander Tommy Milone on Wednesday.

TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), FSN North (Minnesota)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Carlos Martinez (7-2, 2.93 ERA) vs. Twins LH Tommy Milone (2-1, 4.15)

Martinez is dominating opponents of late and is 4-0 with a 0.80 ERA in his last five starts. The worst of that bunch came at Colorado last Wednesday, when the 23-year-old was reached for two runs on eight hits and a walk in 6 1/3 innings. Martinez, who is making his first appearance against the Twins, held Detroit to two runs in five innings in his last start against an American League foe on May 15.

Milone has been solid in two starts since rejoining the rotation on June 4. The California native enjoyed his longest major-league start since April 10, when he yielded two runs on three hits over seven innings at Texas on Friday. Milone faced St. Louis as a member of the Oakland Athletics on June 30, 2013, and picked up the win while surrendering four earned runs in six frames.

WALK-OFFS

1. Cardinals pitchers have allowed a total of eight runs during the five-game winning streak.

2. The Twins have scored two or fewer runs in eight of the last 10 games.

3. Minnesota 1B Joe Mauer is 4-for-32 over his last nine games.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 5, Twins 2