Arizona @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 15, 2012 ) Arizona 2, St. Louis 5

Tied for the second wild-card spot in the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals will vie for a sweep and their eighth straight win over the Arizona Diamondbacks when the teams conclude a three-game series at Busch Stadium on Thursday. The Cardinals posted a 5-2 win on Wednesday behind homers from David Freese and Allen Craig as well as Rafael Furcal’s two-run triple. St. Louis’ shortstop has responded well to his demotion from leadoff to the eighth spot. In two games, Furcal has three extra-base hits. The team dropped Furcal in the order to lighten his load in hopes of keeping him healthy for the stretch run.

Arizona, which has lost all five meetings with the Cardinals this year, has dropped eight of 11 games overall to fall under .500. Leadoff batter Stephen Drew is slumping. After going 0-for-4 Wednesday, Drew is in a 2-for-20 skid with no runs scored over his past five games.

TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, FS-A, FS-M

PITCHING MATCHUP: Diamondbacks RH Trevor Cahill (9-10, 3.85 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Kyle Lohse (12-2, 2.72 ERA)

Cahill has given up three homers and seven earned runs in his last two starts, which have spanned 13 innings. Cahill has a 2.88 ERA on the road this year. In his only career start against the Cardinals, Cahill allowed two runs over six innings.

Tied for third in the National League in ERA, Lohse has dominated in his last two starts, allowing one earned run while fanning 13 over as many innings. Batters are hitting .244 against him. In nine career starts against the Diamondbacks, Lohse is 3-2 with a 5.03 ERA.

WALK-OFFS

1. Lefty Jaime Garcia, who has missed two-plus months with a shoulder injury, will rejoin the rotation Sunday. Rookie Joe Kelly will move to the bullpen and the Cardinals will send down another reliever on Sunday.

2. St. Louis has won 15 of its last 18 home games.

3. Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero is 5-for-11 with four RBIs and three walks over his last four games.