St. Louis @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 20, 2015 ) St. Louis 10, Philadelphia 1

The St. Louis Cardinals look to complete a sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies when the teams with the best and worst records in the major leagues square off in the finale of their three-game series at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday. St. Louis, which leads the majors with a 45-23 record, has rediscovered its offense against Philadelphia, scoring in double digits in each of the first two games of the series after totaling eight in its previous four contests.

Randal Grichuk was the hitting star of Saturday's 10-1 triumph, going 3-for-5 with two homers and four RBIs. Cody Asche's solo blast provided the lone run for Philadelphia, which has lost 11 of its last 12 contests. The league-worst Phillies (23-47) have scored two runs or fewer in seven of their last 11 contests and been outscored 22-5 over the first two games of the series with the Cardinals. Philadelphia's pitching staff has had a rough time of late, surrendering double digits in runs in three of its last five games.

TV: 1:35 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), CSN Philadelphia

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Michael Wacha (9-2, 2.48 ERA) vs. Phillies LH Adam Morgan (NR)

Wacha avoided his first losing streak of the season on Tuesday, when he limited Minnesota to two runs and three hits in 6 1/3 innings en route to a 3-2 victory. The 23-year-old has allowed fewer than three earned runs in seven of his last nine outings. Wacha made his first career start against Philadelphia on April 28, notching the win despite yielding four runs in 5 2/3 frames.

Morgan was summoned from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to make his major-league debut in place of the injured Jerome Williams. The 25-year-old still is searching for his first victory of 2015, as he has gone 0-6 with a 4.74 ERA in 13 starts with the IronPigs. He has surrendered 45 runs - 36 earned - and 81 hits in 68 1/3 innings with 33 strikeouts and 27 walks.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Phillies designated Phillippe Aumont for assignment Saturday and purchased the contract of fellow RHP Seth Rosin from Lehigh Valley.

2. St. Louis OF Jason Heyward is riding a four-game hitting streak during which he has recorded multiple hits on three occasions.

3. Grichuk's two-homer effort Saturday was the first of his career.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 9, Phillies 2