The Houston Astros will be making their last trip to Busch Stadium as a member of the NL Central on Tuesday, when they begin a three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals and the Astros were division rivals for over half a century, with the rivalry coming to a head in a series of epic playoff series in the mid-2000's.

Those days are but a distant memory now, as Houston (48-99), which will move to the AL West in 2013, continues playing out the string in one of the worst seasons in franchise history. The Cardinals, meanwhile, are locked in a tight playoff race for the NL Wild Card race, only a game up on the Los Angeles Dodgers.

As a result, this week's series is the closest a rebuilding Astros team could come to a playoff chance for a long while. Houston will be sending Fernando Abad, a third-year pitcher with only four career starts, to the mound to face Kyle Lohse, who has emerged as the Cardinals ace in 2012, with a 14-3 record and a 2.81 ERA.

The 7:15 p.m. game will be telecast on Fox Sports Houston and broadcast on the radio on KTRH 740 AM.

For more coverage of the Astros, head over to Crawfish Boxes while Viva El Birdos has all the latest on the Cardinals.