Phoenix, AZ (My Sportsbook) - The defending World Series champion Arizona Diamondbacks hope to avoid falling into a two-games-to-none hole this afternoon, when they tangle with the St. Louis Cardinals at Bank One Ballpark in the second contest of a best-of-five National League Division Series.

In the opener of this series on Tuesday, Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds each hit two-run homers off Randy Johnson as St. Louis cruised to a 12-2 win. Fernando Vina and Edmonds each had three hits for the Cardinals, who broke the contest open with a six-run seventh inning. Albert Pujols and Mike Matheny both had a pair of RBI in the win.

Matt Morris tossed seven strong innings and also added a two-run single at the plate for St. Louis, which is facing Arizona in the NLDS for the second season in a row. The D'backs won last year's series in five games. Morris gave up two runs -- one earned -- on seven hits, while walking a pair and fanning three.

"We've got a lot of desire and a lot of heart and it seemed to pay off today," said Morris, who has surrendered a total of four runs -- three earned -- on 20 hits over 22 innings in three playoff starts versus Arizona.

Quinton McCracken finished 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Diamondbacks, who were outhit, 14-8. Arizona has now dropped five in a row to the Cardinals, counting a three-game sweep in St. Louis from September 23-25. It has been outscored by a 42-10 margin in the five setbacks.

Johnson, the leading candidate for the NL Cy Young Award, was touched for six runs -- five earned -- on 10 hits over six frames. The hard-throwing southpaw, who had won 11 of his last 12 decisions in the regular season, walked two and struck out four in falling to 2-7 lifetime in the Division Series.

"I feel very, very bad that I put us in such a deep hole from the get-go," explained Johnson. "My slider was flat. My fastball fell on the middle of the plate. Going up against probably the best lineup in the National League, the two don't mix."

The Diamondbacks' other ace, Curt Schilling, gets the call today. Schilling (23-7, 3.23) last appeared in a game as a reliever on Sunday, surrendering three runs on three hits in one inning of work against the Colorado Rockies. He fanned one and did not walk a batter, while serving up one home run.

In his final start of the regular season, the hard-throwing righthander was ripped by the Cardinals for six runs on six hits in eight frames. Two of the hits were homers, as Rolen and J.D. Drew each belted three-run clouts. While he struck out 12 in that game, Schilling suffered his second loss in a row and third in five decisions.

The 35-year-old hurler has struggled in his last four appearances, permitting a total of 22 runs -- 21 earned -- on 31 hits in 24 1/3 frames. Still and all, Schilling has an excellent postseason history with a 5-1 record and a 1.69 ERA in 10 starts. He faced the Cardinals twice in last year's Division Series and was 2-0 with a 0.50 earned run average.

That said, Schilling absorbed a pair of defeats in two starts versus St. Louis during the regular season. In 14 innings of work, he surrendered 12 runs on 15 hits, including three round-trippers.

Chuck Finley counters for the Cards. Finley won his final regular-season start against the Milwaukee Brewers on September 28, yielding one run on two hits in six frames. He walked two and struck out seven.

The veteran lefthander pitched well in his final two starts, allowing a total of three earned runs over 13 innings in earning a pair of wins. After arriving from the Cleveland Indians in mid-July, Finley went 7-4 with one complete game and a 3.80 earned run average in 14 outings. He won four of his final five decisions.

While pitching for the Indians in last year's American League Division Series against the Seattle Mariners, the 39-year-old hurler was 0-2 with a 7.56 ERA. This will be his sixth career appearance -- third start -- in the postseason.

Finley is 1-1 lifetime versus Arizona, including 0-1 this year. He faced the Diamondbacks while with Cleveland back on June 29 at Jacobs Field, allowing four runs -- three earned -- on seven hits in six innings.

St. Louis went 45-36 on the road this year. The Diamondbacks, on the other hand, finished the season with a 55-26 home record. Their 55 home victories were the most in the majors.

Game 3 of this series is slated for Saturday, when Andy Benes (5-4, 2.78) squares off with Miguel Batista (8-9, 4.29).