Cardinals at Athletics
The St. Louis Cardinals picked up a big series win at home and sit in first place in the National League Central entering a challenging road trip, beginning with the first of two games at the Oakland Athletics on Saturday. The Cardinals, who also visit the Los Angeles Dodgers on the trip, took the rubber match of a three-game set against the Chicago Cubs with an 8-0 victory Thursday night.
Jack Flaherty allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings and Matt Wieters slugged a three-run homer as St. Louis owns a half-game lead over the Cubs and a 2 1/2-game advantage on Milwaukee entering Friday. The Brewers had a two-run lead in the seventh inning Thursday in Oakland before the A's rallied to steal a 5-3 decision. Matt Chapman's two-run homer in the eighth was the big blow as Oakland stayed within a half-game of Tampa Bay for the second wild card in the American League. The A's swept two meetings in St. Louis earlier in the year and will try to stay perfect versus the Cardinals behind Mike Fiers, who opposes Dakota Hudson in the opener.
TV: 9:07 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FS Midwest (St. Louis), NBCS California (Oakland)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Dakota Hudson (10-5, 3.88 ERA) vs. Athletics RH Mike Fiers (9-3, 3.54)
Hudson saw his four-game winning streak come to an end Sunday against Houston while giving up five runs in four innings. He allowed three or fewer earned runs in each of his previous 17 starts. The Mississippi State product, who has a 4.24 ERA in three interleague starts, will face the A's for the first time.
Fiers is unbeaten over his last 15 starts beginning with his no-hitter against Cincinnati on May 7. He received a no-decision after holding Texas to two runs in six innings Sunday, although he gave up a pair of home runs for the first time since May 25. Paul Goldschmidt is 5-for-14 with a home run and two doubles against the 34-year-old Fiers, who has a sparkling 1.45 ERA in career appearances (seven starts) versus the Cardinals but hasn't faced them since 2015.
WALK-OFFS
1. Wieters has four home runs in his last nine games.
2. A's LF Khris Davis is 6-for-15 with a home run and a double during a four-game hitting streak after he was mired in a long slump..
3. Oakland has won four straight meetings and seven of the last nine encounters.