Cardinals at Braves
The St. Louis Cardinals play the second of a three-game series Saturday at the Atlanta Braves looking for Tommy Pham to build off the immediate impact he made in Friday’s series opener. Pham, summoned from the minor leagues after St. Louis had to disable right fielder Stephen Piscotty early Friday, finished 2-for-4 with a double, a homer and two RBIs in his first game in the majors this season while Aledmys Diaz added four hits as the Cardinals cruised to a 10-0 victory.
St. Louis played the opener without center fielder Dexter Fowler, who sustained a shoulder injury Thursday, but banged out a season-high 16 hits while matching a season best in runs scored. The Braves have lost four of their past five and their relief pitchers continue to struggle, giving up three runs (one earned) in five innings to make their bullpen ERA 5.59. Atlanta has allowed 40 runs in its past four games. Braves left fielder Matt Kemp extended his hitting streak to seven games by going 1-for-4 and is batting .355 in that stretch, while center fielder Ender Inciarte is hitting .375 in his past nine games after a three-hit performance Friday.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), FSN South (Atlanta)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Mike Leake (3-1, 1.35 ERA) vs. Braves RH Julio Teheran (2-2, 4.33)
Leake has pitched outstanding in his first five starts, leading the National League in ERA while allowing more than one earned run just once. The 29-year-old, who went 9-12 with a 4.69 ERA in his first season with the Cardinals in 2016, has won his past three decisions and received a no-decision Sunday against Cincinnati despite allowing only one run on eight hits with five strikeouts in six innings. Leake is 4-2 with a 1.98 ERA in eight career starts against Atlanta.
Teheran has struggled mightily in two of his past three starts, losing to the New York Mets on Monday after giving up six runs on six hits in six innings of a 7-5 loss. He defeated the Mets in his previous start April 26 (two runs on four hits in 6 1/3 innings), one week after being hammered for seven runs in four innings in a home loss to Washington. Teheran lost his only start against the Cardinals in 2016, and is 1-2 with a 3.13 ERA in four career starts against St. Louis.
WALK-OFFS
1. Diaz is 9-for-18 in his past four games with three runs scored and four RBIs.
2. St. Louis 3B Jedd Gyorko left Friday’s game after a ball hit off his right wrist.
3. Atlanta RF Nick Markakis recorded his 400th career double Friday.