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(Sports Network) - The St. Louis Cardinals have been one of baseball's most surprising teams this season due to the contributions of players like Todd Wellemeyer. The little-known right-hander will attempt to extend a personal win streak when he takes the mound for the Redbirds in tonight's opener of a four-game series with the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates.

Wellemeyer entered this campaign with just nine career victories and 11 starts over five major league seasons and was cut loose by three different organizations before being claimed off waivers by the Cardinals in May of 2007. The 29-year-old has flourished in his first full season as a starter, having compiled an impressive 5-1 record and a 3.36 ERA over 11 outings this year.

The journeyman hurler has been especially good this month, as Wellemeyer owns a 3-0 record with a 2.40 ERA in five May starts. He's also yielded only one home run over 30 innings during that stretch.

Wellemeyer received a no-decision in his most recent mound trip, a 4-3 St. Louis loss at Los Angeles on Sunday in which he allowed three runs over six innings. Two starts earlier, he bested the Pirates at Busch Stadium on May 14 after yielding one run and just two hits in seven innings of work.

For his career, Wellemeyer is 2-1 with a 3.41 ERA in 14 lifetime appearances against Pittsburgh, three of which have been starts.

St. Louis enters this series having won eight of its last 11 contests and stands 1 1/2 games behind the rival Chicago Cubs for first place in the National League Central. The Cardinals kept up their strong play on Thursday, when the club edged Houston by a 3-2 count in the rubber match of a three-game series.

Kyle Lohse (5-2) threw a sharp six innings for St. Louis, with the righty limiting the Astros to one run and five hits while walking just one. He was staked to an early lead on Chris Duncan's two-run single in the first inning, and Albert Pujols belted a solo homer in the sixth to extend the margin to 3-0.

Ryan Franklin surrendered a solo homer to Houston's Lance Berkman in the ninth but held on to notch his fourth save.

The Pirates rebounded from consecutive losses at Cincinnati to down the Reds in Thursday's series finale. Phil Dumatrait led the way in Pittsburgh's 7-2 triumph by yielding one unearned run and striking out a career-high nine batters over seven outstanding innings.

Jason Bay and Xavier Nady each homered and knocked in two runs for the Pirates, while both Jason Michaels and Jack Wilson finished with two hits and an RBI on the evening. Pittsburgh pounded out 13 hits for the game, with eight of them going for extra bases.

The Reds managed just two hits off Dumatrait (2-2), who also walked just two batters in the longest outing of his career.

Fellow left-hander Zach Duke hopes to duplicate his teammate's performance when he toes the rubber for Pittsburgh tonight. The 25-year-old was roughed up by the Cubs in his most recent start, surrendering five runs (4 earned) and 10 hits in just four innings to take the loss on May 23.

Like Wellemeyer, Duke has had a solid May so far. The native Texan is 2-1 with a 3.82 ERA in five starts over the course of the month.

Duke has yet to face the Cardinals this season but owns a 2-2 record with a 3.98 ERA over seven career starts against St. Louis. He is 0-2 with a 5.60 ERA in three previous matchups at Busch Stadium, however.

The Pirates won two of three tests from the Cardinals in St. Louis earlier this month. These NL Central foes also split a two-game set at PNC Park back in April.