The St. Louis Cardinals (67-51, 66-52 RL, 55-59-4 O/U battle the Arizona Diamondbacks (55-64, 69-50 RL, 51-63-5 O/U) in the three-game series finale on Sunday afternoon. The Cardinals send Jose Quintana to the mound. The Diamondbacks reply with Merrill Kelly, seeking his first win of the month. The Cards lead the season series 3-2 entering Saturday.
Jose Quintana will be on the hill for the 24th time of the season on Sunday. Quintana has been effective since joining the Cardinals. He limited the Rockies to only two runs on four hits in five innings last time out. The veteran left-hander features a 2.65 ERA this month and has filed a 3.38 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP to go with a 4-5 record in 120 innings of work on the season. Quintana has yet to pitch against Arizona this season and has allowed 20 runs in 21 career innings against the foes.
The Cardinals have been one of the most consistent teams this month. They have won eight out of their last ten games to build a four-game ahead of the Brewers. They recorded a dominating sweep of the Rockies prior to this series propelled by a barrage of runs.
Paul Goldschmidt continues his MVP-caliber season. The 34-year-old first baseman has launched five homers along with 12 RBIs in his last eight games. Goldschmidt now has 30 big flies with 96 RBIs and a 1.056 OPS. He is 7 for 15 with six RBIs against the D-Backs this season.
The Cards are posting an average of 4.76 runs, ranking them fourth overall. The pitching staff has recorded a 3.81 team ERA, good for 12th in the big leagues.