First pitch: Tuesday, 8:15 p.m. ET
Line: Houston +130, St. Louis -140, Total: 8.5

Houston comes to St. Louis to try and end the Cardinals’ five-game winning streak on Tuesday.

The Astros are coming into the two-game set struggling as of late. They have lost five of their past seven and have dropped to five games below .500. In their last series they lost two of three to the Rays in Tampa Bay, which included a 5-0 loss on Sunday. Houston will have some help tonight as SS Carlos Correa (.256, 8 HR, 32 RBI) is expected to return after missing all of the previous series with an ankle injury. St. Louis, meanwhile, has recently found its stride, coming into the series on a five-game winning streak. The team has also won seven of its past eight games. The Cardinals should be feeling confident coming into this series, as they are coming off a series in Pittsburgh where they swept the Pirates by outscoring them 22-7 in three games. Tonight, Houston will throw RHP Doug Fister (6-3, 3.34 ERA, 44 K) on the mound against St. Louis’ LHP Jaime Garcia (4-5, 3.89 ERA, 61 K). Its interesting to note that, Houston has struggled against left-handed pitchers, going 5-12 when lefties have made starts against them this season.

2B Jose Altuve (.344, 10 HR, 38 RBI) has been one of the league’s best players this season and he’ll be hoping to provide a spark for Houston in this one. Ranked third in the MLB in wins above replacement (3.4), Altuve’s numbers speak for themselves. Look for him to have a big game since he has hit Garcia well in his career, hitting .462 when facing the lefty. Another player in the Astros’ lineup that will be happy to see Garcia on-the-hill is OF Carlos Gomez (.181, 3 HR, 9 RBI), who has hit .323 against him in his 30 career at-bats. Houston’s pitcher tonight, Doug Fister has been dominant as of late, going 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA in his last three starts. The team has played well behind him all season, going 9-3 in games when he has started. Fister will be looking to get his first win in his career against the Cardinals tonight, as he has gone 0-1 in his two starts against St. Louis.

St. Louis will be looking for another win tonight to extend their current streak and pick away at the Cubs’ 8.5-game lead in the division. They will be giving the ball to Jamie Garcia, who is having a shaky season. He is 1-1 with a 4.86 ERA in his last three starts, including a mediocre outing his last time out. He threw 4.2 innings in that outing and allowed13 hits and five runs in the start. The Cardinals will need Garcia to have one of his better performances in order for them to come away with a win. St. Louis has been winning games all season long with their offense, which is ranked second in runs scored (350) in all of baseball. The hitting has been coming from SS Aledmys Diaz (.315, 8 HR, 32 RBI) and 3B Matt Carpenter (.285, 10 HR, 42 RBI) all season. OF Matt Holliday (.265, 11 HR, 36 RBI) is coming off an incredible two games where he went 6-for-8 with two homers and five RBI. Look for 1B Brandon Moss (.258, 14 HR, 33 RBI) to have a big night because he has been able to get to Fister in his career, going 4-for-7 with one homer and four RBI.