St. Louis @ Baltimore preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 24, 2010 ) Baltimore 2, St. Louis 4

THE STORY: When a division is as tightly packed as the National League Central, three straight losses can set a team pretty far back. In the St. Louis Cardinals’ case, dropping three in a row meant going from a tie for the division lead to being three games behind the Milwaukee Brewers after Sunday. The Baltimore Orioles don’t have the same hopes of contending. They just have the misfortune of orchestrating a rebuilding effort in the American League East. The Orioles will be looking to take advantage of the slumping Cardinals when they open up a three-game set in Baltimore on Tuesday.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FSMW, MASN

PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles LH Zach Britton (6-5, 3.19 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Kyle Lohse (7-4, 2.91 ERA).

Britton has only one win in his last nine starts but has not gotten much help from his defense of late, surrendering a combined five unearned runs in his last two trips. The 23-year-old rookie went six innings at Pittsburgh last Wednesday, allowing five runs – three earned – and seven hits to absorb the loss. Britton, a sinkerball pitcher, has not allowed a home run in any of his last three starts.

Lohse is winless in his last four turns, surrendering seven home runs in that span. The veteran righthander pitched well last Wednesday against Philadelphia, yielding three runs in eight innings, but still took the loss as St. Louis was shut out. Lohse has struggled in interleague play in his career, posting a 6-14 record with a 5.93 ERA in 30 games – 26 starts.

ABOUT THE ORIOLES (35-40): Baltimore helped make sure St. Louis did not fall even farther back over the weekend by taking two of three from the NL Central rival Cincinnati Reds. The series win evened the Orioles’ interleague record at 6-6. Baltimore has been sparked lately by a power surge, belting nine home runs in the three-game series against the Reds to account for 12 of its 17 runs in the series. Derrek Lee, Nick Markakis, Luke Scott and Mark Reynolds each homered in Sunday’s 7-5 triumph. Markakis has recovered from a slow start to the season, hitting safely in each of the last 16 games while posting a .405 batting average during that span.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS (41-38): St. Louis has been in a free fall for the last 17 days, but at least it was able to stay near the top of the Central until last weekend. The Cardinals have dropped 12 of their last 15 games as both the pitching and the offense faltered. Albert Pujols has been gone for the past week after breaking a bone in his forearm, and St. Louis has gone 1-5 in his absence, averaging less than two runs in the five losses. Reinforcements are on the way in the form of third baseman David Freese and utility man Nick Punto, who could be activated as soon as Tuesday. Neither of those two are Pujols, but Freese at least could put an end to what has been a punchless two months from the third base position.

FINAL PITCH: Orioles righthander Jake Arrieta was scheduled to take the mound on Wednesday but will instead be pushed back to Saturday. The 25-year-old experienced some right elbow inflammation due to a bone spur in a five-inning stint at Pittsburgh on June 20. Arrieta threw in the bullpen Sunday without pain and will have another bullpen session Wednesday.