(Sports Network) - With the St. Louis Cardinals' rotation currently banged up, Brad Thompson will try to pitch his team to victory this afternoon in the finale of a three-game interleague series versus the cross-state rival Kansas City Royals at Busch Stadium.

Anthony Reyes was set to pitch on Thursday in place of originally-scheduled starter Todd Wellemeyer, but he was placed on the disabled list with a strained right elbow on Wednesday. Wellemeyer is also suffering from the same problem, which is why Thompson will come off the DL to face the Royals.

Thompson was originally slated to make a rehab appearance for Triple-A Memphis tonight, and hasn't pitched for the Cardinals since a relief outing at Milwaukee on April 22. He gave up four runs in one inning for a no-decision during a 9-8 setback against the Brewers.

Thompson was 1-0 in his first two starts of the season, both St. Louis victories, and is 1-1 with a 4.58 earned run average in six games (2 starts) in 2008. In six career appearances, two of which have been starts, against the Royals, the right-handed Dixie State product is 1-1 with a 5.19 ERA.

St. Louis will need Thompson's best to avoid a three-game sweep. The club has dropped the first two tests of this set and four of six overall, including Wednesday's 3-2 setback in the second installment of this series.

Jason LaRue had two hits and drove in a run, while Ryan Ludwick had the other RBI for the Cardinals, who are 2-3 on a six-game homestand and 23-16 at Busch Stadium this season. St. Louis is still 3 1/2 games behind Chicago in the NL Central standings after the Cubs lost to Tampa Bay on Wednesday.

Braden Looper had another fine outing for St. Louis, allowing just one run and five hits through seven innings of work. Kyle McClellan then blew it for the Cardinals by permitting the go-ahead runs in the eighth to absorb the loss.

Kansas City has won four in a row to improve to 4-1 on a six-game road trip and 17-24 away from Kauffman Stadium in 2008. The Royals are riding their longest winning streak since a five-game run from May 11-16 this season.

In last night's victory over the Cardinals, David DeJesus' solo homer in the eighth pulled the Royals even before Alex Gordon clubbed the eventual game- winning solo shot two batters later. Gordon also scored twice and John Buck added an RBI single in the win.

Royals starter Brian Bannister was reached for two runs and nine hits over seven frames to pick up the victory. Joakim Soria earned his 17th save with a scoreless ninth for Kansas City, which is aiming for its first three-game sweep of the cross-state rival Cardinals since June 12-14 of the 2001 season.

Kansas City hopes starter Zack Greinke can snap out of his recent funk and pitch the ballclub back into the win column. Greinke is 0-3 with a 6.10 earned run average over his last five starts, but is coming off a solid effort in a no-decision against Arizona on Friday. He held the Diamondbacks to three hits over seven shutout innings of a 1-0 setback at Chase Field.

Greinke has been a relief to the bullpen by pitching at least five innings in each of his starts this season. The right-hander and former first-round pick in 2002 owns a 1-2 record and 7.04 earned run average in four career appearances (2 starts) against the Cardinals.

St. Louis is 26-21 against the Royals since interleague play began during the 1997 campaign. The teams split six games in 2007.

The Cardinals are 86-79 all-time against the American League, while Kansas City sports a 92-109 record versus the Senior Circuit.