Preview: Cardinals at Pirates

[July 14, 2017]  Paul DeJong looks to pick up where he left off as the St. Louis Cardinals return from the All-Star break on Friday to begin a 10-game road trip with the opener of a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 23-year-old DeJong has 10 hits in his last 13 at-bats and became the first Cardinals player in the modern era to collect seven extra-base hits in a three-game series.

DeJong, who is riding a six-game hitting streak, homered for the third straight day in a 6-0 rout of the New York Mets on Sunday and also went deep in a 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh on June 23. Like St. Louis, the Pirates are slowly turning around their fortunes and reside below the .500 mark to find themselves looking up at upstart Milwaukee in the National League Central. Pittsburgh's lone All-Star, Josh Harrison, highlighted a three hit-performance with a homer in Sunday's 14-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs to help his team sail to its fifth win in the last six games. Harrison was mired in a 2-for-28 stretch before that outing and is 4-for-19 versus the Cardinals this season.

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

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Mike Leake (6-7, 3.12 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Gerrit Cole (7-7, 4.43)

Leake allowed six runs on 14 hits over 20 innings in his previous three starts before returning to the mound with a thud on July 5, surrendering eight runs on 10 hits in a season-low 3 2/3 frames in a 9-6 setback to Miami. The 29-year-old has recorded a pair of quality starts versus Pittsburgh this season, including an 8-4 win on June 25 to improve to 10-5 in 30 career starts against the Pirates. Despite a positive win-loss record, Leake has struggled against the likes of former Cardinal David Freese (.471) and Jordy Mercer (.375).

Cole answered a pair of disastrous starts in which he yielded seven earned runs in back-to-back outings by permitting two or fewer in four of his last five. Included in that stretch is a sterling effort versus St. Louis on June 24, when the 26-year-old allowed one run on five hits in six innings of a 7-3 triumph. Cole also pitched six strong frames against the Cardinals on April 19, but has endured considerable trouble when facing Matt Carpenter (12-for-32, four homers) in his career.

WALK-OFFS

1. St. Louis OF Tommy Pham has 11 hits in his last eight contests overall, but is just 2-for-13 versus the Pirates this season.

2. Pittsburgh OF Andrew McCutchen is 18-for-38 with three homers and nine runs scored in his last 10 games.

3. Cardinals OF Randal Grichuk is mired in a 4-for-34 stretch with 14 strikeouts in his last 10 contests.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 3, Pirates 2

[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.