(Sports Network) - St. Louis Cardinals starter Joel Pineiro will try for his first win since late April when he leads his team this evening in the first of three straight interleague games versus the cross-state rival Kansas City Royals at Busch Stadium.

Pineiro will make his second start since coming off of the disabled list because of a right groin strain and hasn't won since beating Cincinnati with seven shutout innings of one-hit ball on April 29. He last toed the rubber Thursday at Cincinnati and posted a no-decision after giving up a pair of runs and three hits in five frames of a 6-2 loss. It was his first start since May 20 at San Diego.

The right-hander owns a 4-1 record and 3.47 ERA in nine career games, five of which have been starts, against Kansas City.

St. Louis has won two in a row and six of its last eight games, including Sunday's 7-6 victory over Philadelphia in 10 innings. Rick Ankiel reached base in the bottom of the 10th before scoring on two crucial errors by the Phillies with two outs in the frame. Troy Glaus and Skip Schumaker both homered in the win.

Anthony Reyes pitched a perfect top of the 10th to earn the win. Cardinals starter Mitchell Boggs made just the second start of his major-league career and allowed four runs on six hits over 4 1/3 innings.

The Cardinals are 3 1/2 games behind Chicago in the NL Central standings and 23-14 as the host this season.

Kansas City has won two in a row and three of its last four contests. After losing to Arizona in the opener of a three-game series on Friday, the Royals responded with back-to-back victories over the Diamondbacks and closed out the set with an 8-3 triumph on Sunday at Chase Field.

David DeJesus had a big day for Kansas City, recording a grand slam, three hits and a career-high five runs batted in. Mark Grudzielanek had three hits and scored once for the Royals, while starter Gil Meche earned the win by allowing three runs and four hits in 7 1/3 frames. Meche also recorded a season-high 10 strikeouts.

The Royals, who are last in the AL Central and 15-24 on the road in 2008, will send Kyle Davies to the mound on Tuesday. He is 2-0 with a 1.53 earned run average in three starts this season.

Davies won his first two starts before being saddled with a no-decision on Wednesday versus Texas, when he pitched six innings of one-run ball in an 11-5 loss.

St. Louis is 26-19 against the Royals since interleague play began during the 1997 campaign. The teams split six games in 2007.

The Cardinals are 86-77 all-time against the American League, while Kansas City sports a 90-109 record versus the Senior Circuit.