Marlins at Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals looked at their last two series before the All-Star break and saw a path to .500, but things aren’t breaking their way. The Cardinals will try to earn a split when they host the Miami Marlins on Thursday afternoon for the finale of their four-game series.
St. Louis earned series wins over Arizona and Washington before taking the first contest against the Marlins on Monday but fell off the pace by losing the last two. The Cardinals, who close the first half with a three-game home set against the New York Mets this weekend, are having some trouble keeping the Marlins in the park as they yielded four home runs in Wednesday’s 9-6 setback. Two of those blasts came from Giancarlo Stanton, who tuned up to defend his Home Run Derby crown on Monday by blasting his 22nd and 23rd shots of the campaign. Trying to keep Stanton and company in the yard on Thursday will be Michael Wacha, who opposes Miami’s Tom Koehler.
TV: 1:45 p.m. ET, FSN Florida (Miami), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Marlins RH Tom Koehler (1-3, 8.33 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Michael Wacha (5-3, 4.16)
Koehler returned to Miami's rotation for the first time since May 16 on Saturday and was lit up for seven runs on six hits and a pair of walks in 1 2/3 innings. The New York native did not complete six frames in any of his last five major-league appearances and has surrendered 11 home runs in 40 overall innings. Koehler started against St. Louis on May 10 and did not factor in the decision after allowing four runs and five hits in 5 1/3 frames.
Wacha dominated in his last two turns, recording a pair of wins while allowing a total of one run and nine hits in 12 innings. The Texas A&M product struck out a season-high nine over six frames against Washington on Saturday while issuing one walk. Wacha, who has surrendered a total of one home run in his last five turns, is 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA in two career starts against Miami.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cardinals rookie OF Tommy Phan is 6-for-15 with seven RBIs in his last four contests.
2. St. Louis OF Randal Grichuk is 2-for-21 with nine strikeouts over his last six games.
3. Miami 1B Justin Bour is one of five players vying for the final NL All-Star spot, with voting to conclude Thursday afternoon, and snapped a 13-game homerless drought on Wednesday.