Pittsburgh @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 7, 2016 ) St. Louis 3, Pittsburgh 4

The St. Louis Cardinals are running out of time to catch the San Francisco Giants for the National League's second wild-card spot and have little margin for error as they open a three-game series against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday. The Cardinals trail the Giants by one game with three contests remaining as they look to make the postseason field for the sixth consecutive season.

St. Louis posted a crucial but controversial victory on Thursday when catcher Yadier Molina doubled in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 4-3 victory over Cincinnati. Molina, who homered earlier in the contest, drilled a one-hopper that clearly bounced off a sign beyond the left-field wall but the umpiring crew did not rule it a ground-rule double and infielder Matt Carpenter scored from first base - and the Reds were ruled to have waited too long to request a review. "When the ball's hit, I'm running as hard as I can. I never looked or saw where it was," Carpenter told reporters. "I'm picking up the third-base coach and got the wave, and that's a fun way to win a game." The Pirates played to a 1-1 rain-shortened, six-inning tie against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday and need to sweep the Cardinals to record their fourth consecutive winning campaign.

TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, MLB Network, ROOT (Pittsburgh), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Tyler Glasnow (0-1, 4.91 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Carlos Martinez (15-9, 3.15)

Glasnow is making his fourth start of the season and second against the Cardinals. The 23-year-old lost to St. Louis in his major-league debut on July 7 when he gave up four runs and three hits in 5 1/3 innings. Glasnow received a no-decision in his last outing when he allowed four runs (three earned) and seven hits in three innings against the Washington Nationals.

Martinez has dropped two of his past three starts after winning his previous four decisions. He lost to the Chicago Cubs in his last outing when he gave up two runs and six hits in six innings. Martinez is 3-5 with a 4.01 ERA in 17 career appearances (eight starts) against the Pirates and has gone 1-2 with a 2.41 ERA in three starts this season.

WALK-OFFS

1. Cardinals 3B Jhonny Peralta is 12-for-25 during a seven-game hitting streak.

2. Pittsburgh RF Gregory Polanco (neck) has missed back-to-back games and five of the last six but fares well against Martinez - 10-for-19 with a homer.

3. St. Louis INF Jedd Gyorko is just 2-for-20 over his past seven games, but one of the hits was a homer in Thursday's game.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 4, Pirates 3