=== St. Louis Cardinals Team Report - August 7 ===

(My Sportsbook) - The St. Louis Cardinals try to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Florida Marlins tonight at Busch Stadium.

St. Louis, which has dropped three straight, has fallen into third place in the NL Central, three games behind the front-running Houston Astros.

Last night, the Cardinals lost 7-3. Scott Rolen drove in two runs and Eduardo Perez homered for the Cardinals. Albert Pujols went 1-for-4 to extend his career-high hitting streak to 20 games. With a hit tonight, Pujols will own the longest hitting streak on the team since Joe McEwing's 25-gamer in 1999.

Dan Haren (2-3) took the loss after allowing five runs on 10 hits over six- plus innings. Haren, who had won his last two decisions, walked one and fanned six.

Brett Tomko will toe the rubber tonight for St. Louis. He is 5-2 in his last nine starts and is coming off a victory against the Mets on Saturday. In that game, the righty scattered nine hits and surrendered three runs over 5 2/3 innings.

Tomko is 0-4 at home this season and has yet to win in his career at Busch Stadium, as he's 0-5 in 16 outings.

Tomko is 3-0 in five career games against the Marlins.