Pittsburgh @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 8, 2014 ) Pittsburgh 4, St. Louis 5

The St. Louis Cardinals look to clinch a series victory when they host the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third contest of their four-game set on Wednesday. St. Louis has rebounded from back-to-back home losses to Miami by winning the first two games against Pittsburgh in walk-off fashion. Matt Adams belted a two-run homer with one out in the ninth inning for a 2-0 triumph in Monday's opener and Kolten Wong launched a solo shot with two down in the final frame on Tuesday to propel the Cardinals to a 5-4 victory.

Tuesday's setback put an end to the Pirates' streak of five consecutive road series wins, a feat they hadn't accomplished in 32 years. Pittsburgh had won six of seven and eight of 10 prior to visiting its National League Central rival. The Pirates dropped two of three at St. Louis in late May but won two of three in each of their two home series versus the Cardinals.

TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN, FSN Midwest (St. Louis)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Brandon Cumpton (3-2, 4.61 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Lance Lynn (9-6, 3.17)

Cumpton will be recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis to start in place of Gerrit Cole, who is sidelined with a tight lat. The 25-year-old Cumpton last pitched for Pittsburgh on June 27, when he settled for a no-decision after limiting the New York Mets to two runs over seven innings. He won his only career start against St. Louis, scattering three hits over seven scoreless frames on July 30, 2013.

Lynn rebounded from a rough road outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers by tossing 6 2/3 scoreless innings in a triumph over Miami on Friday. The 27-year-old has won three of his last five starts but hasn't been victorious in consecutive decisions since defeating Atlanta and the New York Yankees on May 16 and 27, respectively. Lynn fell to 4-3 lifetime against the Pirates after yielding four runs over six frames on May 10 at Pittsburgh.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Cardinals have posted consecutive walk-off victories via the home run for the first time since June 4-5, 2011, when Albert Pujols produced both blasts.

2. The Pirates are 0-for-17 with runners in scoring position over the first two games of the series.

3. St. Louis RHP Pat Neshek tossed a perfect eighth to extend his scoreless innings streak to 11 2/3.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 6, Pirates 2