(Sports Network) - Greg Maddux hasn't experienced too many low points during a career that is destined for the Hall of Fame, but the legendary San Diego Padres pitcher is on the verge of matching the longest winless stretch of his career.

Maddux will attempt to break out of his funk when he takes the mound for the Padres in tonight's second test of a four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals from Busch Stadium.

Since becoming the ninth pitcher in major league history to achieve 350 career wins with a May 10 triumph over Colorado, Maddux has gone 12 straight starts without coming away with a victory. The 42-year-old, who has five losses, seven no-decisions and a 4.11 earned run average during that rough patch, has often been victimized by San Diego's sluggish offense, as the Padres have scored three runs or less eight times during his winless span.

Maddux pitched well in each of his final two outings prior to the All-Star break, but received a loss on both occasions. He held his former Atlanta Braves club to three runs over seven innings in a 4-1 setback last Saturday and limited Florida to two runs -- one earned -- through six frames of a 3-1 loss on July 7.

The four-time National League Cy Young Award winner has struggled on the road this season, however. In nine away starts in 2008, Maddux is just 2-5 with a 5.71 ERA and has allowed opponents to hit .319 against him.

Maddux sports a 26-20 career record in 57 games (56 starts) versus St. Louis and has an excellent 2.74 lifetime ERA against the Cardinals. He received a no-decision in a May 20 matchup with the Cards at Petco Park, a game in which the veteran right-hander gave up a pair of runs and five hits through five innings.

He'll be facing a St. Louis squad that belted four home runs against Padres ace Jake Peavy in last night's series opener, with the power surge lifting the Cardinals to a 4-3 win.

Troy Glaus had two of the long balls for St. Louis, while Rick Ankiel and Joe Mather also homered to help the Cardinals record their third victory in their last four games.

Kyle Lohse also did the job on the mound, as the St. Louis starter yielded just two runs on seven hits over seven innings to improve his season record to 12-2. Ryan Franklin allowed a run in the ninth but still managed to pick up his 13th save of the year.

Peavy (7-6) went the first seven innings and permitted four runs on eight hits while striking out seven Cardinals on the evening.

Kevin Kouzmanoff finished 2-for-3 with an RBI single for San Diego, while Edgar Gonzalez had a solo home run among his two hits in the Padres' third straight loss.

St. Louis, now four games behind first-place Chicago in the NL Central race and one ahead of Milwaukee in the Wild Card standings, sends out Braden Looper in tonight's matchup. The right-hander is in the midst of a winless drought of his own, as he's registered back-to-back losses and hasn't won in three starts since a June 24 decision over Detroit.

Looper was last in action on July 10 at Philadelphia and surrendered four runs in six innings during a 4-1 Cardinals' loss. The former closer was better in a tough-luck setback to the Cubs on July 4, in which he held the division leaders to two runs and six hits over seven frames.

The 33-year-old was the winning pitcher in St. Louis' 11-3 rout of the Padres on May 21, throwing five innings and giving up three runs on eight hits. For his career Looper owns a 4-3 record and a 2.91 ERA in 30 appearances against San Diego, three of which have been starts.

The Cardinals have won in five of their last six encounters with the Padres, including three of the four games played between the teams this season. San Diego has also suffered losses in five of its six most recent tests in Busch Stadium.