First pitch: Monday, 7:10 p.m. ET
Line: New York -130, St. Louis +120, Total: 6.5

The St. Louis Cardinals look to continue their tremendous season when they take on the New York Mets in Queens on Monday night.

It seems like the Cardinals are at the top of the standings every year and 2015 has been no different as they hold a four-game lead in the NL Central, but come into this matchup with a 3-5 record in their past eight contests. They played a tough series against the Tigers over the weekend; losing 2-of-3 games, but were close in the 4-3 extra-inning affair on Saturday and tamed the potent Detroit offense in a 2-1 victory to avoid the sweep on Sunday. They held the Tigers to a 0-for-6 mark with RISP as 2B Kolten Wong’s sixth inning solo blast proved to be the difference. With another multi-hit showing, 3B Matt Carpenter (.328) continued to rake and is 6-for-17 (.353) with a double, two HRs, three RBI and three runs during his current four-game hitting streak. The Mets came out of the gates firing on all cylinders to start the 2015 season, going 13-3 over the first sixteen games, but have since posted a record of 9-13 as they hold a half game lead over Washington in the NL East. They did get back to their winning ways when hosting the Brewers over the weekend, and after losing 7-0 in the opener, outscored Milwaukee 19-2 in the next two contests. On Sunday, New York was victorious by a score of 5-1 behind nine hits as the top four batters in the lineup went 6-for-15 with all five RBI. OF Curtis Granderson (.248) has struggled on the year but is 7-for-22 (.318) and has a pair of homers in the past four games. Experience versus youth will be the theme of this pitching matchup as RHP John Lackey (2-2, 3.22 ERA) matches up with RHP Matt Harvey (5-1, 2.31 ERA). The Cardinals do not do quite as well when on the road as evidenced by their 10-7 record as the Mets are a solid 15-4 at home. It’s been a rather close series between these two clubs since the start of the 2013 campaign with St. Louis holding an 8-6 edge as New York is 4-3 when hosting in that time. They have not faced off this year, but when they last met at this stadium, the Mets were able to grab 3-of-4 games, holding the Cardinals to a meager six runs in the series. Trends show that St. Louis is 21-7 against right-handed pitchers in 2015 as John Lackey’s team has gone 2-8 as a road underdog of +100 to +125 in the past three years when he’s on the bump. The Cardinals will continue to have a thin OF as both Jon Jay (Wrist) and Tommy Pham (Quad) are on the DL as infielders 3B David Wright (Hamstring) and 2B Dilson Herrera (Finger) are out for the host New York squad.

Lackey is a polished veteran and despite two very down years when he first arrived in Boston, the righty has been able to post a sub 4.00 ERA in eight of his first 12 seasons and has allowed 16 runs in his first seven starts (44.2 IP) despite a career low 6.04 K/9. With his strikeouts down he has needed to excel in other areas and has been amazing at keeping the ball in the park with a mere two homers against him (0.40 HR/9) as his 4.3% HR/FB mark is tremendous. He hasn’t allowed more than two ER in any of his past three starts, but did struggle with control (5 BB) in his last outing against the Indians. He’s seen the Mets twice in his 361 career major league starts and is 1-0 (2-0 team record) with a 2.70 ERA (1.42 WHIP), but has not seen them since 2008. He has taken on a couple of New York’s veterans a ton, though, with differing results as OF Michael Cuddyer (8-for-25, 4 HR, 6 RBI) has been great while OF Curtis Granderson (8-for-34, 1 double, 2 triple, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 8 K) has not. The Cardinals own one of the best bullpens in baseball and in 2015 they are 10-4 with a 2.21 ERA (1.19 WHIP) as they’ve gone 17-for-20 in save attempts. Trevor Rosenthal (0.95 ERA, 13 saves) has 23 strikeouts with a mere 11 hits allowed in his 19 innings on the mound.

Harvey has returned from his surgery and gone right back to the dominant pitcher that mowed down batters in his first two seasons with the club. He has actually improved his already elite control with a miniscule 1.4 BB/9 in 2015 and continues to strikeout more than a hitter per inning (9.1 K/9). He’s already had three outings with no runs allowed through seven starts and is coming off an exceptional effort (7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 9 K) in a no-decision against the Cubs last week. This will mark his third start against the Cardinals in his career and although he has taken a loss each other time, he has a 3.00 ERA (1.25 WHIP) and was phenomenal (7 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 7 K) when they last met in 2013. No St. Louis player has more than six at-bats against the 26-year-old as OF Jason Heyward (2-for-6) has a homer and two RBI in the matchup while OF Matt Holliday is hitless in his six at-bats with a pair of strikeouts. The New York bullpen has been solid, going 3-3 with a 2.59 ERA (1.03 WHIP) as they’ve successfully saved 15-of-17 games. Jeurys Familia (1.47 ERA, 13 saves) has a 21:4 K/BB ratio and eight hits allowed during his 18.1 innings of work.