St. Louis @ Detroit preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 28, 2012 ) Detroit 5, St. Louis 9

St. Louis travels to Detroit for a rematch of the 2006 World Series - with a premium pitching matchup opening the three-game set on Tuesday. The Cardinals send Lance Lynn against Detroit’s Justin Verlander, who leads the majors with 103 strikeouts. The Tigers, who lost the 2006 Fall Classic in five games, have won seven of their past 10 and sit just 2.5 games behind American League Central leader Chicago.

The Cardinals also are playing catch-up in the standings. St. Louis has lost four of its past seven and sits 4.5 games behind Cincinnati in the National League Central. Detroit took two out of three from Colorado last weekend, while St. Louis dropped two of three against Kansas City. Lynn and Verlander will be challenged by two of the top hitting teams in baseball: St. Louis ranks second (.275) while Detroit stands fourth (.267).

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network (nationwide), Fox Sports Midwest (St. Louis), Fox Sports Detroit (Detroit).

PITCHING MATCHUP: St. Louis RH Lance Lynn (10-2, 2.42 ERA) vs. Detroit RH Justin Verlander (6-4, 2.66 ERA).

Lynn looks to join New York Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey as baseball’s first 11-game winner, and his remarkable season has taken a powerful turn in his past two starts. Lynn struck out 11 in six innings against Houston on June 7 and fanned 12 in 7 1/3 innings Wednesday against the White Sox.

Nobody in baseball has struck out more hitters this season than Verlander, but he snapped a four-start winless streak Thursday against the Cubs. Verlander allowed two earned runs and five hits in eight innings, striking out eight to win for the first time since May 18.

WALK-OFFS:

1. Detroit outfielder Quintin Berry went 5-for-5 Sunday against Colorado. Berry may return to left field for this series.

2. St. Louis infielder/outfielder Skip Schumaker, who is currently rehabbing a right hamstring strain at Triple-A Memphis, could rejoin the big-league team this week.

3. Detroit has not been shut out since last July 17, a stretch of 134 games.