Preview: Cardinals at Phillies

[August 19, 2016]  The road continues to be kind to the St. Louis Cardinals, with the exception of right-hander Adam Wainwright. The struggling veteran will try again to achieve success away from home when the Cardinals continue a nine-game road trip with the first of three contests against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday.

St. Louis is 4-2 on the trip and an MLB-best 36-23 on the road overall, but their last setback away from home saw Wainwright get shelled in a loss at the Chicago Cubs. "I just didn’t show up. That was embarrassing," said Wainwright, whose road ERA ballooned to 6.72 after he gave up seven runs in two innings. "This is the worst season of my career. This is terrible." Four straight wins since then have given the Cardinals a one-game lead over Pittsburgh in their quest for the second wild card in the National League. The Phillies have little to say about that race at eight games out, but they have won five of their last seven following a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), CSN Philadelphia

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Adam Wainwright (9-7, 4.72 ERA) vs. Phillies LH Adam Morgan (1-7, 6.62)

Wainwright's clunker against the Cubs left him at 0-2 with a 10.38 ERA in August after he went 3-0 with a 1.77 mark in July. The 34-year-old got the win after allowing three runs in six innings against Philadelphia at home on May 2. Wainwright is 2-1 with a 2.48 ERA in five career games (four starts) at Citizens Bank Park.

Morgan left his previous start against Colorado after three-plus innings when he was struck in the arm by a comebacker. That was his first outing for the Phillies since being recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he won five straight starts while posting a 2.76 ERA. The 26-year-old allowed three runs in four innings at St. Louis on May 4 and defeated the Cardinals with 5 2/3 solid frames in his big-league debut last season.

WALK-OFFS

1. Philadelphia 1B Ryan Howard homered Thursday and has gone deep five times in his last nine games.

2. The Phillies have scored eight runs in four meetings (1-3) this season.

3. Cardinals 1B/OF Brandon Moss is 9-for-26 with four homers and seven RBIs in his last six games.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 5, Phillies 4

[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.