Padres On Deck vs. Cardinals, Game 2 of 3

St Louis (27-20) at San Diego (16-30), 7:05 pm, 4SD/1090/105.7

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) - The St. Louis Cardinals' surging offense has the club on a three-game winning streak. The Cardinals try to win four straight contests for the first time since the season's opening week when they continue a three-game series with the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.

St. Louis tied a season high with 16 hits, including a pair of home runs by Albert Pujols, en route to an 8-2 victory over the Padres on Monday. Pujols is hitting .444 (12-for-27) over his last six games for the Cardinals, who lead the National League with 457 hits this season and have scored 23 runs in their last three games after scoring just six runs in back-to-back losses.

The Padres hope Greg Maddux (3-4, 3.98 ERA) can cool off St. Louis when he takes the mound Tuesday. After becoming the ninth player in history to record 350 career wins, Maddux allowed four runs and 11 hits in just 4 1/3 innings, suffering the loss during Thursday's 4-0 setback to the Chicago Cubs.

Joel Pineiro (2-2, 4.46) counters for the Cardinals on Tuesday after failing to factor in the decision during his last three starts. The righthander is 3-0 with a 3.21 ERA in five career starts against the Padres.