St. Louis @ Milwaukee preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 12, 2014 ) St. Louis 10, Milwaukee 2

Kolten Wong and the St. Louis Cardinals have picked a fine time to heat up while the Milwaukee Brewers could find themselves in an unfamiliar position with yet another loss on Sunday. Wong looks to continue his hot hand as the Cardinals vie for a sweep of the reeling Brewers and sole possession of first place in the National League Central with a victory in the series finale on Sunday. Wong homered in each of the first two contests and has gone deep five times in the last seven games.

After overcoming a six-run deficit in the series opener, St. Louis breezed to its eighth win in 11 outings with a 10-2 rout on Saturday while handing Milwaukee its season-high seventh loss in a row. The Brewers, who have been in sole possession of first place since April 9, may have had their minds elsewhere on Saturday as they played without Jean Segura. The young shortstop hastily returned to the Dominican Republic after being informed that his 9-month-old son, Janniel, had died during Friday's 7-6 setback.

TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Midwest (St. Louis), Fox Sports Wisconsin (Milwaukee)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Carlos Martinez (2-3, 4.12 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Wily Peralta (9-6, 3.95)

Martinez was taken deep for the first time since being converted to a starting pitcher in his last outing on Tuesday, and the pair of two-run homers led to a no-decision versus Pittsburgh. The 22-year-old Dominican has been a good luck charm for St. Louis, which has gone on to win all five of his starts. Martinez has fared well in his relief efforts against Milwaukee, allowing just four hits in 9 2/3 scoreless innings.

Peralta tasted defeat for the first time since May 31 after getting blitzed for nine runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings in a 9-7 setback to Philadelphia on Tuesday. The 25-year-old has traditionally struggled versus St. Louis, but allowed just one run in 6 1/3 strong innings en route to a 5-1 victory on April 16. Despite the strong performance, Peralta still holds a 6.26 ERA against the Cardinals while allowing the team to bat .302 against him.

WALK-OFFS

1. St. Louis 3B Matt Carpenter, who is 7-for-20 in his last five games, is a blistering 5-for-9 with a homer in his career versus Peralta.

2. Playing in place of Segura on Saturday, Milwaukee SS Jeff Bianchi has hit safely in four of his last six games in which he has had a plate appearance.

3. Cardinals SS Jhonny Peralta, who is 9-for-19 with five RBIs in his last five games overall, is 23-for-57 in 13 career contests versus the Brewers.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 4, Brewers 2