Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis Cardinals WATCH FREE BASEBALL: LIve Streaming Online MLB from Busch Stadium at 7:15 PM ET
Offense has been hard to come by for the Cards, who haven't scored any runs in their last two games.
The slumping Cardinals try to avoid getting shut out in three straight for the first time in nearly 40 years as they continue a home-and-home series against the visiting Royals on Tuesday night.
St. Louis (30-28) has dropped five of six after collecting three singles in Monday's series-opening 6-0 defeat. The Cardinals, who suffered an 8-0 loss to San Francisco the day before, have been outscored 36-15 while hitting .200 during their slide.
St. Louis is batting .238 with runners in scoring position and averaging just 3.8 runs to rank in the bottom-third of baseball in both categories. The Cardinals haven't been blanked in three straight since losing their final three games in 1976.
"We've had lots of meetings, we've had the conversations we needed to have," manager Mike Matheny said. "What we're doing right now isn't going to work and they know that. We all do."
Kansas City is hoping to see James Shields (6-3, 3.36 ERA) get back on track after posting a 6.92 ERA and serving up five homers over his last two starts, matching his total from his first 10 outings. The right-hander, who had a 2.67 ERA in his first 10, was tagged for six runs over seven innings in Thursday's 8-6, 10-inning win at Toronto.
The Cardinals give the ball to Jaime Garcia (1-0, 4.12), who has struck out 19 and walked none through his first three starts spanning 19 2/3 innings since debuting May 18. The left-hander yielded three runs and served up two homers over seven innings in a 6-5 loss to San Francisco on Thursday.
"You go out there, try to get ahead and try to keep the ball down," he told MLB's official website. "Unfortunately today I made some mistakes and I feel like I didn't do my job."
Garcia is 0-1 with a 7.30 ERA in three starts against the Royals, but he hasn't faced them since 2011.
After this game, St. Louis and Kansas City play the first of two at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday.
The game is live streaming online free at mlbsluggers.com/watch-mlb-baseball-games-live-online-free
