(Best E Casino) - Greg Maddux has seen better days on the mound and will lead the San Diego Padres this evening in the second installment of a three-game series versus the St. Louis Cardinals at Petco Park.

Maddux is 1-4 with a 4.95 earned run average over his last six starts. He faced the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field the previous time out on May 15, absorbing the loss after yielding four runs and 11 hits in a season-low 4 1/3 innings of work. The future Hall of Famer fell to 3-4 in nine starts this season, while watching his ERA balloon to 3.98.

The right-hander is 26-20 in 56 career games (55 starts) against St. Louis, with a solid 2.72 earned run average.

San Diego will need Maddux at his best to help stop a three-game slide. It opened a 10-game homestand with an 8-2 loss to the Cardinals, as Brian Giles and Khalil Greene each had two hits in defeat. The Padres are 5-13 over their last 18 games and got a rocky showing from starter Wilfredo Ledezma, who got the start over injured ace Jake Peavy. Ledezma absorbed the loss after he was touched for four runs on five hits in just four innings on the hill.

Peavy is headed to the 15-day disabled list with a strained flexor muscle in his right arm. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner has a 4-3 record in nine starts this season, with a 2.91 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 58 2/3 innings.

The Padres are last in the NL West division, and will also host Cincinnati for four games and Washington for three contests on the homestand. They are 8-11 at Petco Park this season.

St. Louis has won three in a row and will continue its six-game swing through San Diego and Los Angeles tonight. In Monday's series-opening victory over the Padres, Albert Pujols went 3-for-5 with a pair of solo home runs and Ryan Ludwick ended with three hits and was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. Ludwick also drove in three runs and scored twice, while Yadier Molina, pitcher Todd Wellemeyer and Cesar Izturis added an RBI apiece.

Wellemeyer recorded the win after he gave up just two runs on six hits in six frames of work. Randy Flores, Ron Villone and Russ Springer each threw a perfect inning of relief to preserve the win for the Cardinals, who are two games behind Chicago for the lead in the NL Central and 10-10 as the visitor this season.

The Cardinals will send Joel Pineiro to the mound on Tuesday, and he is 2-2 with a 4.46 earned run average in seven starts.

Pineiro is 2-0 over his previous five trips to the hill, with three consecutive no-decisions. On May 15 versus the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium, Pineiro did not factor in the outcome of an 11-5 setback despite allowing four runs and six hits over five frames.

The right-hander will put his perfect record against the Padres on the line this evening, as he sports a 3-0 mark with a 3.21 ERA in five career appearances against them.

St. Louis and San Diego are meeting for the first time since the Cardinals took four of seven meetings from the Padres a year ago.