Phillies at Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals came up empty in all seven contests of their just-completed road trip, but a return to Busch Stadium to host a struggling foe could be just what the doctor ordered for manager Mike Matheny's charges. Mired in their worst losing skid since 2013, the Cardinals look to get back on track in the opener of a three-game series versus the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday.
"This is baseball. It's heavy right now, there's no doubt about it," Matheny told reporters after St. Louis was unceremoniously swept by Cincinnati with a 5-2 setback on Thursday for its 17th loss in 22 games. "In the long run, we're going to snap out of this. It's just hard finding what that key is." Matt Carpenter has hit the right notes with a homer in back-to-back contests for the Cardinals, who outscored the Phillies by a 34-15 margin last season en route to winning five of the seven matchups. Philadelphia, which owns a majors-worst record of 21-37 as well as a dreadful 9-23 mark away from home, received a rare ray of light with a season-high four-game winning streak before getting outscored 17-2 in losing back-to-back outings at Atlanta. Odubel Herrera recorded an extra-base hit for the sixth straight contest in Thursday's 3-1 setback, improving to 13-for-28 with 10 doubles, two homers, nine RBIs and eight runs scored during his seven-game hitting streak.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Jeremy Hellickson (5-3, 4.50 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Michael Wacha (2-3, 4.67)
Hellickson's strong start to the season has taken a significant hit, as the 30-year-old has answered a 4-0 mark with a 1.80 ERA in April with a 1-3 record and 6.75 ERA in his last seven starts. He received a no-decision on Sunday after being taken deep twice in 5 1/3 innings against San Francisco, raising his homer total to 11 permitted over the last seven outings. Hellickson owns a 2-1 mark with a 5.03 ERA in three career starts versus St. Louis.
Wacha fell to 0-2 with a bloated 11.91 ERA in his last three outings after receiving a no-decision Sunday despite allowing six runs on as many hits in 4 1/3 innings at the Chicago Cubs. The 25-year-old has pitched just 4 1/3 innings, three, and four respectively in his last three outings after opening the season with seven consecutive starts of six or more frames. Wacha owns a 1-2 mark with a 4.82 ERA in three career starts versus Philadelphia.
WALK-OFFS
1. Philadelphia SS Freddy Galvis is 9-for-19 with two homers, four RBIs and four runs scored during his six-game hitting streak.
2. St. Louis RF Stephen Piscotty has two homers, five RBIs and three runs scored in his last five contests.
3. Phillies 1B Tommy Joseph is 6-for-16 with one homer and three RBIs during his four-game hitting streak.