Colorado @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 30, 2010 ) Colorado 1, St. Louis 6

With nothing left to play for in terms of playoff hopes, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Colorado Rockies will be putting individuals on display this weekend.

Instead of a hotly contested series in which both teams are fighting for playoff positioning, late-season swoons have both Colorado and St. Louis mathematically eliminated from the race during the last weekend. But one of the most debated races of the season will take place in these last few games, and that’s the National League MVP race.

MVP candidate Albert Pujols will be looking to state his case to the voters when the teams meet again on Friday.

Pujols has won the award each of the last two years and three times overall and is having another outstanding campaign. The All-Star slugger has finished in the top four in voting in all but one of his nine previous seasons and leads the NL with 42 home runs. His on-base and slugging percentages rank in the top three in the league and his 118 RBIs place him first in that category while his batting average sits at a healthy .315.

The only thing holding him back is the rest of his team, as Cincinnati’s Joey Votto has similar stats and a team that is headed to the playoffs.

Colorado has a pair of candidates as well. Carlos Gonzalez leads the NL in batting average and ranks second in slugging percentage to go along with 34 homers and 117 RBIs. The problem with his stats is that that are so heavily influenced by Coors Field. His OPS is nearly 400 points higher at home.

Troy Tulowitzki looked like he was jumping in the race for a while as well with 14 homers in a 15-game span earlier this month. He has cooled of late but still needs just three RBIs in the final games to match Babe Ruth’s September record of 43 for the month.

Pujols will be taking his cuts on Friday against left-hander Jorge De La Rosa. The 29-year-old has lost his last two starts, allowing a total of six runs on 10 hits in 13 innings. His offense has done him no favors, scoring just three runs in the two games.

De La Rosa is 4-2 with a 5.70 ERA in 12 career games - six starts - against the Cardinals. Pujols is 4-for-14 with two doubles, a home run and five RBIs in his career against the lefty.

St. Louis will counter with right-hander Jake Westbrook. The veteran sinkerballer is 1-1 over his last two starts but has allowed a total of 10 runs - eight earned - in 9 1/3 innings over that span. Walks have been a problem, with Westbrook issuing seven free passes in the two games.

He has faced Colorado just twice in his career - both times during interleague play when he was with the Cleveland Indians - and owns a 1-1 record with a 2.25 ERA against the team. Neither Gonzalez nor Tulowitzki has had an at-bat against Westbrook.