(My Sportsbook) - Kyle Lohse will make his fourth start of the season this afternoon for the St. Louis Cardinals, who will shoot for a three-game sweep of the New York Mets at Busch Stadium.

Lohse is 2-0 with a 2.57 earned run average in three starts this season, but is coming off a rough outing against the Chicago Cubs. In a 7-5 loss at Wrigley Field on Saturday, Lohse did not factor in the outcome even though he surrendered four runs and five hits in five innings of work. He was coming off a complete-game effort versus Houston in his previous start.

The right-hander will try to even his career mark against the Mets, as Lohse owns a 1-2 record with a 5.57 ERA in six starts versus New York.

St. Louis will try for its second sweep of the season after taking three in a row from Houston in Missouri from April 10-12. The Cards recorded a 6-4 win the series opener and handed the Mets a 5-2 defeat on Wednesday, thanks to Joel Pineiro's eight solid innings on the mound.

Pineiro allowed two runs and six hits to improve to 3-0 on the season, while Ryan Franklin earned his fourth save of 2009.

Albert Pujols knocked in a pair of runs for the Cards and both Joe Thurston and Skip Schumaker added RBI hits in a winning effort. St. Louis is 2-0 on a six-game homestand versus New York and the Chicago Cubs.

The Mets will try to stop a season-high three-game losing streak and avoid being swept for the first time this season. The NL East favorites didn't get much help from starter John Maine last night, as he fell to 0-2 on the year after giving up five runs and seven hits over 5 2/3 innings.

Carlos Beltran highlighted the Mets offense with a 3-for-4 effort and an RBI. Daniel Murphy drove in the other New York run.

The Mets will send Livan Hernandez to the bump on Thursday and he is 1-0 with a 4.63 earned run average in two starts this season. Hernandez made his Mets debut on April 11 at Florida and earned the win with 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball to back an 8-4 victory.

Hernandez then started Friday versus Milwaukee and did not factor in the Mets' 5-4 victory, surrendering four runs and seven hits in five frames. The veteran right-hander, who split time with Minnesota and Colorado last year, is 5-5 with a 4.33 ERA in 16 career starts against St. Louis.

New York won four of seven meetings with St. Louis a year ago.