• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Wellemeyer, Cardinals hope to take advantage of Mets

Jul 1, 2008 - 3:37 PM NY Mets (40-42) at St. Louis (48-36) 8:15 p.m. EDT

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Todd Wellemeyer looks for a second straight strong outing since returning from the disabled list as the St. Louis Cardinals host the New York Mets on Tuesday.

A pleasant addition to the Cardinals' rotation this season, Wellemeyer was placed on the DL with elbow discomfort after allowing eight runs in 3 1/3 innings on June 13. He returned in Detroit on Thursday and showed no negative affects from the injury, tossing five scoreless innings in a 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Tigers.

Wellemeyer (7-2, 3.46 ERA) will be facing a Mets team that has scored only six runs in its last four contests after posting 15 Friday in the first game of a doubleheader against the New York Yankees.

The Mets suffered a 7-1 setback in the series opener Monday as Kyle Lohse picked up his 10th win with seven strong innings and Albert Pujols drove in a pair of runs. St. Louis recorded its third straight victory.

New York counters with Tony Armas, who will be making his first start of the season. Armas, 30, signed a minor league contract with the Mets in the spring and has spent the entire season at Class AAA New Orleans, compiling a 5-7 record with a 2.54 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 102 2/3 innings.

A veteran of nine major league seasons, Armas owns a 52-65 career record with a 4.62 ERA. He went 4-5 with a 6.03 ERA in 31 games - 15 starts - for Pittsburgh last season.