Pirates at Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals have 21 games remaining to make a run for a playoff spot, which may be just enough time given their recent play and the fact they won't play another contest outside the division for the rest of the regular season. The Cardinals aim for their eighth victory in 10 contests Saturday, when they continue their three-game series against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates.
St. Louis moved within four games of the first-place Chicago Cubs in the National League Central and remained three games behind Colorado for the second wild-card spot following a series-opening 4-1 victory over Pittsburgh, as Jose Martinez continued to swing a hot bat by going 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Perhaps most importantly, Matt Carpenter (shoulder) and Tommy Pham (shoulder) returned to the lineup, drawing a total of four walks while scoring one run apiece. Pittsburgh quickly is falling out of postseason consideration, as it trails the Cubs by 10 1/2 games and Colorado by 9 1/2 in the wild-card race. Despite the return of Gregory Polanco to the lineup for the first time in nearly a month in the opener, the Pirates could not manage an extra-base hit to complement their nine singles and have scored only four runs during their three-game losing streak.
TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, AT&T Sportsnet-Pittsburgh, FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Chad Kuhl (7-10, 4.32 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Carlos Martinez (11-10, 3.34)
Kuhl enjoyed his finest start of the season in a victory over the Cubs on Monday, allowing only four hits while striking out a career-high eight batters across seven scoreless innings. The outing marked the first time in five tries the 24-year-old lasted more than 5 1/3 frames and halted a stretch in which he had dropped three of four decisions. Kuhl's previous win came against the Cardinals on Aug. 19, when he permitted one run over five innings to improve to 1-1 with a 3.94 ERA in three starts versus St. Louis this season.
Martinez was dominant en route to his second career shutout Monday at San Diego, throwing 76 of his 109 pitches for strikes while giving up only three singles and striking out 10 for his fourth win in five decisions. The outing marked the fifth time this season the two-time All-Star has fanned at least 10 batters but was his first such effort since June 27. Martinez is 1-0 with a 3.21 ERA in two starts against the Pirates in 2017, including a victory on Aug. 24 in which he gave up three runs in seven frames.
WALK-OFFS
1. Jose Martinez is batting .484 with three homers and eight RBIs during his career-best 10-game hitting streak.
2. Pittsburgh OF Starling Marte is a career .329 hitter against the Cardinals and 12-for-25 all-time versus Carlos Martinez.
3. St. Louis rookie 2B/SS Paul DeJong, who went 8-for-42 during the team's recently completed 10-game road trip, did not start Friday for the first time since July 6.