Miami @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 5, 2014 ) Miami 6, St. Louis 5

Casey McGehee continues to come through with the timely hit to keep the Miami Marlins within shouting distance in the National League East. McGehee looks to extend his career-high hitting streak to 13 games on Sunday when the Marlins vie for a series victory over the host St. Louis Cardinals. After his initial RBI single opened the scoring, McGehee added another following an 11-pitch at-bat to forge a tie with two outs in the ninth inning before scoring on Jeff Baker's base hit to lift Miami to a 6-5 victory over St. Louis on Saturday.

McGehee, who has eight hits in his last four contests, will put his 19-game road hitting streak on the line against an unknown commodity in Marco Gonzales. The left-hander will attempt to lead the Cardinals to their fourth win in five outings and keep them in contention in the NL Central. Allen Craig belted a two-run homer in his triumphant return following a two-game absence for his first blast since May 29.

TV: 2:15 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Florida (Miami), Fox Sports Midwest (St. Louis)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Marlins RH Henderson Alvarez (5-3, 2.33 ERA) vs. Cardinals LH Marco Gonzales (0-1, 9.64)

Henderson was in line for his third consecutive victory before the bullpen yielded back-to-back homers in the eighth against Philadelphia on Tuesday. The 24-year-old has kept the ball in the park in each of his last nine outings and hasn't lost since May 11. Henderson has struggled while pitching on the road, posting a 1-2 mark while registering a 1.61 WHIP and allowing the opposition to bat .328 against him.

After allowing five runs - including a homer - on seven hits in his major-league debut, Gonzalez permitted the same numbers en route to dropping a 5-0 decision against San Francisco on Tuesday. The 22-year-old was tentatively scheduled to be shipped back to the minors as Joe Kelly nears a return from a hamstring injury, but that was before left-hander Jaime Garcia announced that he is leaning toward season-ending surgery. Gonzales, who is the 19th overall pick of the 2013 draft, boasts an impressive changeup but needs more seasoning in order to remain in the Cardinals' rotation.

WALK-OFFS

1. St. Louis C Yadier Molina is 10-for-21 with two runs scored and two RBIs during his six-game hitting streak.

2. Miami LF Christian Yelich, who belted a three-run homer on Saturday, is 9-for-27 with five runs scored in six games since returning from a back injury.

3. Cardinals SS Jhonny Peralta has homered twice among his four hits over three games, but is 0-for-6 in his career versus Alvarez.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 5, Marlins 4