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Short-handed offensively, the sinking Atlanta Braves certainly can't afford to be giving up a lot of runs because of a struggling rotation.

The Braves will try to avoid a ninth straight loss Tuesday night when they continue their series against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.

Atlanta dropped its eighth straight Monday, falling 8-2 to St. Louis - extending its worst single-season skid since losing nine in a row April 21-29, 2010.

The Braves (26-24) have averaged 2.5 runs and hit .178 during their current funk, striking out 10 or more times in three straight games. It hasn't helped that Brian McCann recently missed time with an illness, while Chipper Jones (leg) and Freddie Freeman (vision) are both out.

Randall Delgado (2-5, 4.53 ERA) has been going through an individual drought for a while. After winning his first two starts of 2012, he's winless in his last seven, yielding eight walks and eight runs over 9 1-3 innings in the last two.

He's walked at least three in each of his last four outings.

The right-hander takes the ball Tuesday, and he may want to be especially careful with Rafael Furcal. The shortstop hit one of two home runs against Hanson on Monday, finishing with three hits to bring his batting average up to .340.

St. Louis (27-22) has won back-to-back games, scoring eight runs in each, after dropping three straight. Monday's win snapped a three-game skid against the Braves, and the Cardinals have now won 12 of 18 in the series.

They've lost three straight times with Jake Westbrook (4-3, 3.38) on the mound, with opponents hitting .371 against Tuesday's scheduled starter in that stretch.

Westbrook gave up a season-high six runs in a season-low 3 2-3 innings of St. Louis' 10-9 loss to Philadelphia on Thursday.

"I was very erratic early," he said. "Even when I was in the zone, it was one of those type things where they were able to get base hits. It snowballed early on me."

The right-hander is 1-1 with a 4.03 ERA in four starts against the Braves. Eric Hinske, who is 2 for 18 with eight strikeouts in his last five games, is 5 for 14 with two doubles against Westbrook.

It's unclear if the Cardinals will have David Freese out of the lineup for a second straight day as he deals with a wrist problem.

ATLANTA (AP) Lance Lynn joined Philadelphia's Cole Hamels as the major leagues' first eight-game winners, and the St. Louis Cardinals' extended the Atlanta Braves' longest losing streak in two years to eight games with an 8-2 victory Monday.

Lynn (8-1) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings. While he was dominating the Braves, Hamels pitched the Phillies to an 8-4 win at the Mets.

Atlanta is on its worst skid since the Braves lost nine in a row from April 21-29, 2010. The Braves have given up seven runs or more in four straight games.

Daniel Descalso hit a two-run homer as a fill-in starter at third base for David Freese, who was given a day off with a mild sprain of his right hand.

Rafael Furcal had three hits, including a homer, and Matt Adams had three hits with three RBIs for St. Louis.

Marc Rzepczynski and Eduardo Sanchez followed Lynn with hitless relief, completing a five-hitter.

Matt Holliday singled and scored on Brian McCann's passed ball. After Carlos Beltran was caught in a rundown between third and home when he broke for the plate on a pitch, Yadier Molina singled in a run and Descalso followed with his second home run this season.

Furcal's home run off hanson and Adams' RBI single off Kris Medlen made it 6-0 in the fourth.

Juan Francisco had a two-run single in the bottom half. Adams added a two-run double against Medlen in the sixth.

NOTES: Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Freese could play but added he wanted to ''nip it in the bud'' so Freese's hand will heal. ... Molina started after leaving Sunday's game early due to dehydration. ... Matheny said Cardinals INF-OF Allen Craig (left hamstring strain) is expected to be ready to come off the DL on Friday. ... McCann (illness) was 0-for-4 in his first start since May 21. ... Cardinals RHP Jake Westbrook will face RHP Randall Delgado on Tuesday night.

Well, I was gonna say how about we start a winning streak, but then I saw Jake Westbrook was pitching...

Q: What year is it?
A: Ty Wigginton

Q: What year is it?
A: Ty Wigginton

The Reds keep finding ways to win while the Braves are finding ways to lose. As a result, the two teams are going in opposite directions in the standings. Cincinnati has taken the Central lead from St. Louis by winning eight of its last 10 games. Atlanta, meanwhile, has lost eight games straight to fall into the NL East basement.

The team from Ohio has surged into first place despite a mediocre offense that ranks just 21st in baseball in runs scored and 24th in on-base percentage (.306). Pitcher Aroldis Chapman has assumed the closer role, and could be having one of the all-time great seasons for a reliever. He has yet to allow an earned run over 26 innings, having struck out 44 and walked just eight. Chapman has been so dominant that batters are hitting just .081 against him this season with a .271 OPS. AccuScore projects him for a 1.45 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and a 13.9 K/9 rate for the rest of the season.

The Braves, meanwhile, appear to have greater depth than most of the league, but have not performed up to that expected level. Just a week ago, Atlanta was a massive favorite for a playoff spot, but now those odds have basically been cut in half. In fact, this was the single biggest drop in a week by a National League team this season. Only the Red Sox have taken a larger hit in the projections among major-league teams.

Despite the massive drop, the Braves are still squarely in the mix for a playoff spot. The key will be getting better performances from the starting rotation, namely Mike Minor, who currently has an ERA of nearly 7.00. AccuScore projections expect him to be better, but not as good as Atlanta would want at an ERA of 4.98 for the rest of the season. Possible upgrades for the Braves include Jair Jurrjens and Julio Teheran, both of whom are currently pitching in the minors.

8. SP Ramon Delgado
9. LF Jose Costanza