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Jun 24, 2009 - 5:11 AM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

St. Louis (39-32) at New York (35-33), 7:10 p.m. EDT

It would be a lot asking him to match Joel Pineiro's gem, but the way St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Brad Thompson has been pitching lately, it's not out of the question.

Thompson tries to win his third straight start Wednesday night at Citi Field, where St. Louis looks to build on its first victory in the New York Mets' new park.

Pineiro threw a two-hitter Tuesday as the NL Central-leading Cardinals (40-32) defeated New York 3-0 to even the four-game set.

"He had great movement, moving the ball in and out," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "He had two or three pitches he was mixing in."

St. Louis will now turn to Thompson (2-2, 3.89 ERA), who is 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA since making his first start of the season June 2. He was 0-1 with a 4.30 ERA coming out of the bullpen.

In his last outing, Thompson gave up four runs and five hits, including a leadoff homer in the first, as St. Louis defeated Kansas City 10-5 on Friday.

"Didn't really plan out this game starting out with a home run, but settled down after that and it ended up being a good outing," said Thompson, who has held opponents to a .174 batting average in his last two starts.

Thompson is 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA in nine relief appearances versus the Mets (35-34).

New York, which had 14 hits in Monday's 6-4, series-opening win, had four baserunners Tuesday as it was shut out for the first time at Citi Field.

"(Pineiro) went out there, had a good outing," third baseman David Wright said. "There's really nothing that we could have done more besides trying to find some holes, and that wasn't happening tonight."

Wright went 0 for 2 and was hit by a pitch, going hitless against the Cardinals for the first time in eight games. He is 2 for 6 with a double and homer lifetime against Thompson.

New York gives the ball to Fernando Nieve, who also goes for his third consecutive win. Prior to June 13, the right-hander hadn't won a game in three seasons.

Called up from Triple-A Buffalo on June 5, Nieve (2-0, 1.84) has pitched well for an injury-ravaged Mets club that's without starters John Maine (shoulder) and Oliver Perez (knee).

"Oh, it's been a tremendous surprise. Obviously, a pleasant one," manager Jerry Manuel said. "His history wouldn't have indicated he would be this good."

Making his first start since June 15, 2006, the 26-year-old right-hander took the mound at Yankee Stadium on June 13 and surrendered two runs and four hits in a 6-2 victory.

"I didn't feel nervous," Nieve said after earning his first win since June 25, 2006. "It's baseball. It's my job. I have been doing that for a while, just trying to do the same that I've been doing for years."

In his last outing, Nieve yielded one run in six innings of a 5-3 win over Tampa Bay on Friday.

"Here I feel more confident in all my pitches," he said. "I want to show them that I can be in the rotation."

Albert Pujols drove in his major league-leading 69th and 70th runs with a two-out, bases-loaded single in the seventh Tuesday. Pujols, the reigning NL player of the week, is batting .421 (8 for 19) with three homers and 12 RBIs during his five-game hitting streak.