Atlanta @ St. Louis preview
Busch Stadium
Last Meeting ( May 1, 2011 ) St. Louis 5, Atlanta 6
THE STORY: There still is a glimmer of hope for the St. Louis Cardinals as they begin a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves on Friday. St. Louis is eight games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central with 19 to play, so a division title may be wishful thinking. But the Cardinals can get within 4 1/2 games of Atlanta for the wild card with a sweep of their weekend set. The Braves swept a doubleheader with the New York Mets on Thursday but still trail the Philadelphia Phillies by 10 games in the NL East.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Atlanta), FSN Midwest (St. Louis), MLB Network
PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Randall Delgado (0-1, 4.20 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Edwin Jackson (4-2, 3.44 ERA).
Delgado still is in search of his first win as he makes his fourth career start. The 21-year-old settled for a no-decision against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday after allowing three runs in five innings. It was Delgado's first outing since limiting the San Francisco Giants to one run on one hit over six frames on Aug. 16.
Jackson yielded two runs in seven innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, but did not figure in the decision. He is 3-1 in his last six starts and has allowed three earned runs or less in each outing. Jackson has posted a 3-0 record and 2.30 ERA in five starts at Busch Stadium since being acquired from Toronto on July 27.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS (76-67): St. Louis has hit into a major league-leading 151 double plays this season. Slugger Albert Pujols has been a major contributor to the cause, grounding into a league-high 27 twin killings. Righthander Eduardo Sanchez continued down the road to recovery from a shoulder injury as he threw aggressively off a mound on Wednesday. Sanchez, who has not pitched since June 12, thinks he's close to returning, although manager Tony La Russa will use complete caution in making the decision.
ABOUT THE BRAVES (84-60): International League Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Pitcher Julio Teheran picked up his first major-league victory in the nightcap of Thursday's twinbill, allowing one run in 5 1/3 innings. Righthander Tommy Hanson is slated to throw off a mound Sunday as he continues to recover from tendinitis in his rotator cuff. Freddie Freeman's single in the third inning of Thursday's first game was his 147th hit of the season, a single-season record for a Braves rookie. The previous mark was set in 1988 by Ron Gant.
FINAL PITCH: Chipper Jones' homer in the opener of Thursday's doubleheader was the 48th of his career against the Mets, his highest total versus any team. Atlanta not included, Jones has gone deep against all but four major league teams - Kansas City, Oakland, Seattle and the Los Angeles Angels.