St. Louis @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 22, 2011 ) St. Louis 6, Pittsburgh 4

THE STORY: Two of the three clubs battling for the National League Central title face off when the visiting St. Louis Cardinals play the second game in a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night. The Cardinals won the series opener 6-4 on Friday behind first-inning home runs by Albert Pujols and David Freese. The Cardinals' Jaime Garcia and the Pirates' Kevin Correia face off Saturday in a battle of two of the National League's winningest pitchers. St. Louis and Pittsburgh trail first-place Milwaukee by one game.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FS St. Louis, ROOT (Pittsburgh)

PITCHING MATCHUPS: Cardinals LH Jaime Garcia (9-4, 3.11 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Kevin Correia (11-7, 4.04).

Garcia has settled down after struggling at the end of June, allowing only four earned runs over 19 innings (1.89 ERA) in three July starts. He took a loss at Cincinnati on July 17 despite allowing only one earned run on six hits in seven innings. Garcia is 0-1 in three career games - including one start - against the Pirates, but he has surrendered only one run in 9 1/3 innings. Current Pittsburgh hitters are a combined 9-for-24 against Garcia. Though his ERA has steadily risen since an outstanding April, Correia remains close to a 20-win pace, ranking second in the National League in victories. He has a loss and a no-decision in his last two starts, allowing eight runs and 14 hits in 9 2/3 innings. Correia pitched seven shutout innings in a victory at St. Louis on April 6 when he allowed only five hits. The Cardinals, though, are 34-for-110 (.309) against Correia overall with 19 walks and 13 strikeouts.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS (52-47): St. Louis has struggled to get consistency on the mound, but its offense has ranked among the best in the game all season. First baseman Albert Pujols (.280, 22 HRs, 59 RBIs) has had a slightly disappointing year by his lofty standards, but he has been aided by a resurgent campaign from right fielder Lance Berkman (.288), who leads the club with 26 homers and 66 RBIs. Left fielder Matt Holliday ranks among the league leaders with a .312 batting average despite an 0-for-5 night Friday.

ABOUT THE PIRATES (51-46): Pittsburgh has thrust its way into baseball's most crowded division race, winning nine of its last 13 games before Friday's setback. The Pirates haven't been world-beaters offensively, ranking near the bottom of the league with 377 runs scored, but they have gotten by thanks largely to a pitching staff that ranks seventh in the majors in earned-run average (3.40). Closer Joel Hanrahan (28-of-29 saves, 1.24 ERA) has been dominating all season but even more so recently, allowing only one run and seven hits in 17 innings of work since June 7.

FINAL PITCH: The Pirates were in first place Thursday. The last time the Pirates led their division that late in the season was 1992, when Tim Wakefield was a rookie starter for Pittsburgh. The 44-year-old Wakefield is 5-3 with a 4.80 ERA with the Boston Red Sox this season.