SPORTSTICKER NL PREVIEW LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- The St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers open their final series of the season tonight. These teams already have met six times, with the Cardinals winning four of those games. St. Louis won two of three games in Los Angeles in April and also took two of three from the Dodgers last weekend at home. Following a three-game losing streak, the Cardinals have won four of their last five contests and are coming off Thursday's 6-4 victory at San Diego. Mark McGwire has homered in consecutive games for the Cards and is 5-for-7 in that span. Juan Acevedo (2-1, 7.45 ERA) makes his second start of the season for St. Louis. After 15 appearances out of the bullpen, Acevedo made his first start on Sunday against the Dodgers and gave up four runs -- three earned -- and five hits in two innings of a no-decision. Raul Mondesi hit his National League-leading 15th homer on Thursday, but the Dodgers suffered a 4-3 loss in 10 innings against Houston. Mondesi has six homers in his last nine games. Los Angeles has lost four of its last five contests. Ismael Valdes (4-1, 3.40) is on the mound for Los Angeles. Valdes has won three of his last four decisions and did not receive a decision against the Cardinals on Sunday when he allowed three runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He is 4-2 lifetime against St. Louis.  