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Cardinals-Reds Preview

May 15, 2010 - 3:48 AM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

St. Louis (20-15) at Cincinnati (19-15), 7:10 p.m. EDT

The St. Louis Cardinals didn't need any home runs to give Adam Wainwright plenty of support in his last outing.

After ending a long homerless drought, the Cardinals may not need much production at the plate to get a second straight win as they send their ace to the mound against the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night.

St. Louis (21-15) was struggling entering the opener of this three-game series, managing to stay ahead of surging Cincinnati (19-16) in the NL Central despite losing seven of nine. The Cardinals failed to hit a home run in any of those contests.

Albert Pujols ended that drought with a two-run shot in the third inning, and the Cardinals increased their lead in the division to 1 1/2 games with a 4-3 win over the Reds (19-16) on Friday night that also ended Cincinnati's five-game winning streak. The Reds' streak included two straight shutouts.

"I think we can manufacture (runs), too," Cardinals right fielder Ryan Ludwick said. "But guys can hit home runs, and that's going to help."

St. Louis' 87 homers at Great American are the second most by a visiting team, one fewer than the Cubs.

Pujols hit his first homer since April 25, though the three-time NL MVP has seven RBIs over his last three games.

Pujols, though, did not drive in a run and the Cardinals had 11 hits in one of their most productive games this season, an 11-4 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Wainwright (5-1, 2.08 ERA) surrendered two runs and struck out seven in six innings to earn a win in that contest. The right-hander yielded three runs or fewer for the 25th time in his last 26 starts.

Wainwright hasn't been nearly as good in five starts versus the Reds, going 2-2 with a 4.85 ERA.

Cincinnati will counter with Mike Leake (3-0, 3.10), who is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA in his last three starts. The 22-year-old rookie right-hander earned a win against Chicago on Sunday, giving up three runs and striking out six in seven innings of a 5-3 Cincinnati victory.

Leake made his major league debut against the Cubs on April 11 without spending a day in the minors. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Leake was the eighth overall selection in the 2009 draft.

"He's a little dude with a big, old heart," manager Dusty Baker said. "His heart's 6-6."

This is Leake's first appearance versus the Cardinals.

Cincinnati's pitching was dominant during its winning streak, posting a 1.20 ERA. That run put the Reds within one-half game of first place, where they haven't been so late in a season since June 8, 2006.

A better performance from its lineup would certainly have helped Cincinnati's cause. The Reds were held under four runs for the second time in nine games.

Jonny Gomes, however, was a bright spot at the plate once again with three hits. The left fielder is hitting .467 (14 for 30) with seven RBIs over his last eight games.