By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
ST. LOUIS — The Philadelphia Phillies (21-39) — winless in four straight games and eight straight road series — will look to salvage the series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals (28-32) and avoid their sixth sweep Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium.
Twelve-year Cardinals veteran RHP Adam Wainwright will make his 13th career start against the Phillies as he opposes right-handed starter Aaron Nola.
The Phillies and rookie RHP Nick Pivetta fell 7-0 to the Cardinals Saturday afternoon in the second of the three-game set. Cardinals RHP Carlos Martinez tossed his first career complete game and shutout, limiting Phillies batters to just three singles, a double (Tommy Joseph, 10) and walk (Howie Kendrick, 7) with 11 strikeouts on 107 pitches (69 strikes). Pivetta lasted five innings, allowing four runs on as many hits and walks on 90 pitches (56 strikes).
Saturday's loss guaranteed the Phillies five straight series defeats against the Cardinals. Manager Pete Mackanin's club has dropped eight of its last nine contests at Busch Stadium, outscored 54-20.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (21-39) | St. Louis Cardinals (28-32) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Aaron Nola | RHP | Adam Wainwright | ||
| (3-3, 4.28 ERA) | (6-4, 4.82 ERA) | ||||
Nola Career vs. STL: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, 7 SO, 0.429 WHIP
Nola's first and only career start against the Cardinals came on May 3, 2016 in the Phillies' 1-0 victory at Busch Stadium. The right-hander limited opposing batters to a .087/.125/.130 slash in seven shutout innings, allowing just a single, double and walk spanning 24 faced batters.
The Baton Rouge, Louisiana native is coming off of an eight-inning, one-run performance in his first career start at SunTrust Park on June 6. Nola's performance was the longest Phillies' starter outing since Sept. 2016.
Since returning from the disabled list on May 21 (lower back strain), Nola is 1-3 despite only four extra-base hits allowed spanning 24 innings and 97 faced batters.
Wainwright Career vs. PHI: 6-2, 2.85 ERA, 14 G, 12 GS, 82 IP, 76 H, 27 R, 26 ER, 4 HR, 19 BB, 57 SO, 1.159 WHIP
Wainwright, 35, has won six of his last seven decisions dating back to April 21. Over his last five starts, the right-hander is 4-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 1.200 WHIP ratio. Three of those outings lasted at least six shutout innings; Wainwright allowed more than one run in just one of the contests, his most recent start on June 6 at Great American Ball Park (9 ER, 3 2/3 IP).
The Brunswick, Georgia native faced the Phillies twice in 2016, going 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA, 1.083 WHIP, nine strikeouts and three walks in 12 innings.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (21-39) | St. Louis Cardinals (28-32) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L | 1 | 1B | Matt Carpenter | L |
| 2 | LF | Daniel Nava | S | 2 | CF | Dexter Fowler | S |
| 3 | 2B | Howie Kendrick | R | 3 | RF | Stephen Piscotty | R |
| 4 | 1B | Tommy Joseph | R | 4 | 3B | Jedd Gyorko | R |
| 5 | RF | Michael Saunders | L | 5 | SS | Aledmys Diaz | R |
| 6 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 6 | LF | Tommy Pham | R |
| 7 | C | Andrew Knapp | S | 7 | 2B | Kolten Wong | L |
| 8 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S | 8 | C | Eric Fryer | R |
| 9 | P | Aaron Nola | R | 9 | P | Adam Wainwright | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 2:15 p.m.
- TV: CSN
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- Wainwright has pitched six or more innings in each of his 12 career starts against the Phillies. He has won his last three starts against the Phillies at Busch Stadium.
- Kendrick has reached base safely in 17 of his 20 games this season and is batting .333/.390/.520 with two home runs and eight RBIs. The 12-year veteran — who spent his first 11 seasons with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim — is 10 hits shy of 1,500, five walks shy of 300 and three home runs shy of 100 for his career.
- Since Sept. 9, 2016, the Phillies have lost 34 of their last 44 road games, outscored 248-159 (-89).
- Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis is 5-12 lifetime against Wainwright with two doubles, one home run and five RBIs. Outfielders Odubel Herrera and Daniel Nava have also previously gone yard against the three-time All-Star.
NL East Standings (entering June 11, 2017)
| W | L | GB | L10 | Streak | Home | Road | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Nationals | 38 | 23 | — | 6-4 | L2 | 17-11 | 21-12 |
| New York Mets | 27 | 33 | 10.5 | 4-6 | W2 | 14-19 | 13-14 |
| Atlanta Braves | 27 | 34 | 11.0 | 5-5 | L2 | 13-16 | 14-18 |
| Miami Marlins | 27 | 34 | 11.0 | 6-4 | L1 | 14-16 | 13-18 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 21 | 39 | 16.5 | 4-6 | L4 | 12-14 | 9-25 |
What's Next:
The Phillies will conclude their nine-game road trip with a brief two-game set against the Boston Red Sox at the historic Fenway Park on June 12-13. Both clubs will return to Philadelphia for another two-game series June 14-15 to finish out the home-and-home series.
- Monday, June 12, 2017: at Boston Red Sox, 7:10 p.m.
- Fenway Park
- RHP Jerad Eickhoff (0-7, 5.15 ERA) vs. RHP Rick Porcello (3-8, 4.46 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
