Atlanta @ St. Louis preview
Busch Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 9, 2011 ) Atlanta 3, St. Louis 4
THE STORY: The St. Louis Cardinals gained ground in dramatic fashion Friday as they tied the game against the Atlanta Braves when they were down to their final out in the ninth inning and won it on Nick Punto's sacrifice fly in the 10th. St. Louis, which hosts the middle game of the three-game series Saturday, climbed within seven games of first-place Milwaukee in the National League Central and 6 1/2 back of Atlanta in the wild-card race. The Braves fell to 2-4 on their eight-game road trip.
TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Atlanta), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Derek Lowe (9-13, 4.65 ERA) vs. Cardinals LH Jaime Garcia (11-7, 3.65 ERA).
Lowe is coming off a loss at Philadelphia on Monday in which he surrendered seven runs - five earned - in five innings. The veteran has not strung together consecutive wins since June 29-July 5. Lowe has not fared well against St. Louis over his career, going 1-7 with a 6.89 ERA in nine starts.
Garcia posted his first victory in seven starts last Saturday as he allowed two runs - one earned - in six innings against Cincinnati. The 25-year old has kept lefthanded hitters in check this season, yielding just 10 extra-base hits and one home run. Garcia came away with a no-decision at Atlanta on May 1 when he surrendered four runs over six innings.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS (77-67): With the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth Friday, Albert Pujols bounced a single down the first-base line to score two runs and tie the game at 3-3. St. Louis would've had a chance to end it in the ninth, but Ryan Theriot was thrown out at the plate on the play. Earlier in the game, Pujols grounded into his league-leading 28th double play of the season. Matt Holliday also hit into a twin killing, raising the Cardinals' league-high total to 153. Holliday is 19-for-37 (.514) with a home run and 11 RBIs against Lowe while Pujols is hitting .360 (9-for-25) with a homer and nine RBIs.
ABOUT THE BRAVES (84-61): Closer Craig Kimbrel had a pair of impressive streaks halted Friday. Pujols' two-run single ended Kimbrel's scoreless innings stretch at 38 1/3 and his run of consecutive successful save opportunities at 25. Reliever Scott Linebrink has struggled since returning from a stint on the disabled list due to a strained lower back. In eight appearances, Linebrink has yielded six runs over 5 2/3 innings. Chipper Jones' homer on Thursday was the 452nd of his career, tying him with Carl Yastrzemski for 33rd place on the all-time list.
FINAL PITCH: Randall Delgado's start on Friday was the fourth straight by a Braves rookie. Atlanta had not started four rookies in a row since Sept. 2-5, 2008, when it sent Charles Morton, Jorge Campillo, James Parr and Jair Jurrjens to the mound in succession.