St. Louis @ Miami preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 29, 2016 ) St. Louis 11, Miami 6

Locked in a tight National League wild card race, the Miami Marlins showed they mean business by pulling off a seven-player deal with the San Diego Padres on Friday. One of the pitchers acquired in the deal, Colin Rea, will get the start in Saturday's matchup against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.

Right-hander Andrew Cashner, scheduled to start Sunday, was also part of the deal that cost Miami right-hander Jarred Cosart and a pair of their top minor-league prospects, first baseman Josh Naylor and pitcher Luis Castillo. "We've played so well and we thought our starting pitching needed more," Marlins President of Baseball Operations Michael Hill said. "We’re excited that we were able to accomplish some of our goals as we finish up this trade deadline season." St. Louis followed up Thursday's 5-4 series-opening victory with an 11-6 drubbing to move into sole possession of the second wild card, one game ahead of Miami. Tommy Pham and Jeremy Hazelbaker each belted a pair of two-run shots as the Cardinals pushed their NL-leading homer total to 142 en route to their ninth win in 12 games.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals LH Jaime García (7-7, 3.97 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Colin Rea (5-5, 4.98)

Garcia will be making his first career start on three days' rest, having thrown only 77 pitches over five innings in a loss to the New York Mets on Tuesday. Aside from the low pitch count, Garcia's success against the Marlins could be a factor in the decision -- he is 2-0 with a 1.99 ERA in five starts versus Miami. Slugger Giancarlo Stanton is 4-for-6 against Garcia.

Rea projects as more of a depth move for Miami, given that he has permitted at least three runs in 10 of his last 12 starts. He suffered his second straight loss despite his third quality start in the last six turns, allowing three runs and five hits over six innings at Toronto. Rea faced the Cardinals on April 24, giving up two earned runs in five innings of a no-decision.

WALK-OFFS

1. Marlins LF Ichiro Suzuki went 0-for-4 Friday to remain two hits shy of 3,000.

2. Cardinals C Yadier Molina has hit safely in 13 straight games, with multiple hits in his last four contests.

3. Marlins 1B Derek Dietrich is 0-for-22 with nine strikeouts in his last seven games.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 6, Marlins 4