The Cardinals are in the Big Apple to open a three-game series with the Mets tonight at Citi Field.  Jaime Garcia puts his 9-and-4 mark up against the Mets' Jonathon Niese, who is 6-and-4.  The Cards are 55-and-44 on the season, a full game ahead of Cincinnati for first place in the NL Central.  The Reds lost 3-2 at Milwaukee on Monday.  The Cardinals have the second-best home record in the NL at 34-and-16, but are just 21-and-28 on the road this season.  The Mets have been in a tailspin.  New York went just 2-and-9 on its 11-game road trip to open the second half of the season.  The Mets are now just one game over .500 at 50-and-49, seven-and-a-half back in the NL East. The pregame is at 5:27 on KWRE.

While the rest of the Cardinals enjoyed a day off, slugger Albert Pujols made a trip to Manhattan to do an appearance on the CBS' "Late Night with David Letterman."  The Redbirds first baseman talked with Letterman in the studio before heading outside to take some swings in the street.  Police barricades helped turn a block-long portion of the street into a makeshift batting cage, with Pujols taking cuts against diehard Red Sox fan, actor Denis Leary. 

Cardinals pitcher Kyle Lohse surrendered two runs, but just one earned, in three innings of work in his first rehab start for the Memphis Redbirds Monday.  The Redbirds beat the Oklahama City RedHawks and rehabbing Texas Rangers pitcher Rich Harden, 5-2. Lohse gave up two hits, struck out three and walked none in his first game action since surgery on his right forearm in last May.  He threw 30 of his 43 pitches on the evening for strikes.  Neither he nor Harden factored in the decision.  The Redbirds scored three times in the bottom of the eighth to win it.

Geovany Soto hit a two-run double and Carlos Silva tossed five solid innings for his 10th win as the Cubs knocked off the Astros 5-2 to open a three-game series at Minute Maid Park.