St. Louis @ Florida preview
Sun Life Stadium
Last Meeting ( May 20, 2010 ) Florida 2, St. Louis 4
Locked in a tight battle at the top of the National League Central, the St. Louis Cardinals know they can count on one thing - Adam Wainwright.
The ace will be looking to lead the Cardinals back to the top of the division when they open a three-game set against the Florida Marlins on Friday.
With all the early hype surrounding Colorado’s Ubaldo Jimenez and the more recent praise lavished on Florida’s Josh Johnson, Wainwright seems to have been lost in the shuffle in the hierarchy of young NL aces. But a closer look at the numbers puts St. Louis’ right-hander right at or above the level of the two more heralded hurlers - with room to grow.
Wainwright ranks second in wins (15 to Jimenez’s 17) and third in ERA (2.19 to Johnson’s league-leading 1.96 mark) while ranking second with a 1.02 WHIP and fourth (behind Roy Halladay, Tim Lincecum and Johnson) with 147 strikeouts. Wainwright also has the benefit of playing in games that matter, meaning more voters’ eyes will be on him in September as the Cy Young and division races come down to the wire.
The 28-year-old Wainwright has allowed one or no runs in six of his last seven starts, going 5-1 over that span. He is coming off an outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates over in which he allowed one run on six hits while striking out five and not walking a batter.
The Georgia native has used the pinpoint command of his sinking fastball to set up a knee-buckling curve that allows him to toy with hitters when it’s on.
Wainwright had very little trouble earning a win over the Marlins on May 20, yielding two runs on six hits while striking out eight in seven innings. Wainwright has made seven career appearances - five starts - against Florida, managing a 3-1 record with a 2.61 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 38 innings.
The Cardinals could use another of those outings after spending the early part of the week dropping two of three to the lowly Houston Astros to fall one-half game behind the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central. They avoided a sweep with an 8-4 triumph in the finale on Wednesday, getting a three-run homer from Albert Pujols and 7 1/3 strong innings from Chris Carpenter.
Florida has been knocked off the fringes of contention by losing four straight. Thursday night’s setback to Philadelphia was the worst of the bunch, with the Marlins surrendering a 4-2 lead in the ninth inning and losing in the 10th.
The Marlins will send right-hander Ricky Nolasco to the mound today. The 27-year-old has won three in a row and seven of his last eight starts and is coming off his longest outing of that span - an 8 1/3-inning effort at San Diego last Saturday in which he allowed three runs on five hits while striking out seven.
Nolasco has never beaten the Cardinals in five career tries, going 0-2 with a 5.92 ERA.