Cardinals at Rangers
The St. Louis Cardinals visit Texas on Sunday in the rubber match of their three-game interleague series after defeating the Rangers for the first time since Game 7 of the 2011 World Series. St. Louis prevailed 8-2 on Saturday to snap a seven-game regular-season slide against Texas while winning for only the fourth time in its last 16 games as it sets its sights on snapping a four-series losing streak.
Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong (.322) helped his team bust out by going 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs, improving to 4-for-8 in the series after going 2-for-13 in his previous four games. St. Louis' Matt Carpenter raised his career interleague average to .323 after a 2-for-5 performance following a 3-for-23 stretch over his previous seven contests. Texas, which is 5-1-1 in seven home sets this season, had outscored its foes 29-5 during a three-game winning streak before getting shut down Saturday. The Cardinals' Jack Flaherty tries to avoid the big inning when he takes the ball Saturday opposite Drew Smyly, whose start was pushed back two days after he sustained a sprained ankle in his last turn.
TV: 3:05 p.m. ET, FS Midwest (St. Louis), FS Southwest (Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Jack Flaherty (4-3, 4.34 ERA) vs. Rangers LH Drew Smyly (0-3, 6.85)
Flaherty allowed three runs - all in the fifth inning - along with three hits and five walks in six frames of a 14-3 victory at Atlanta on Tuesday. The 23-year-old Californian has yielded 21 of his 24 runs this season in six of his 47 2/3 innings. Flaherty, who has never faced Texas, has struck out 53 with a 1.28 WHIP and .240 batting average against in 2019.
Smyly permitted five runs (four earned), four hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings of an 11-4 loss at Houston on May 11. The 29-year-old Arkansas native has allowed four runs in four of his six starts this season with a trip to the injured list (nerve tightness in left arm) occurring between outings four and five. Smyly, who has never faced St. Louis, has yielded six home runs among 25 hits with 16 walks and 27 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings this season.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cardinals RHP Carlos Martinez (shoulder) pitched a scoreless ninth inning Saturday in his season debut.
2. Rangers LF Willie Calhoun went 1-for-4 on Saturday and is 9-for-20 with two home runs and five RBIs in four games since being recalled from Triple-A Nashville.
3. St. Louis is 90-91 on the road in interleague play.