St. Louis @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 15, 2013 ) Pittsburgh 5, St. Louis 6

The race for first place in the National League Central will be front and center when the St. Louis Cardinals visit the Pittsburgh Pirates for three games beginning Friday night. St. Louis enters with a one-game lead over Pittsburgh after the Pirates fell to Milwaukee on Thursday while the Cardinals enjoyed a day off. Pittsburgh has won eight of the first 13 meetings between the teams, who meet next week in St. Louis.

The slumbering Pirates offense was held to six hits in a 4-0 loss to the Brewers, the club's second shutout loss in a span of four games and third this month, including a 13-0 loss to the Cardinals on Aug. 1. St. Louis is also coming off a scoreless effort in a 10-0 setback against Cincinnati on Wednesday, but the Cardinals have won nine of their last 12 overall. They are three games into a 13-game stretch that sees them play only the Reds and Pirates, the two teams attempting to catch St. Louis in the division race.

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

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Shelby Miller (12-8, 2.90 ERA) vs. Pirates LH Francisco Liriano (14-6, 2.74)

Miller is 0-3 with a 4.08 ERA against Pittsburgh, getting just one run of support in those games, while going 12-5 with a 2.73 mark against all other teams. He suffered his most recent loss against the Pirates on Aug. 14, giving up five runs (three earned) in six frames of a 5-1 setback. The 22-year-old yielded just a run and three hits in seven innings versus Atlanta on Saturday.

Liriano has been very inconsistent over the last two months, posting seven starts in which he lasted at least seven innings and gave up two runs or fewer while going 0-3 with a 16.03 ERA in three other outings. One of those subpar performances came at San Francisco on Saturday, when Liriano was reached for four runs and nine hits in four frames. However, two of the gems came against St. Louis, which has managed just two runs and eight hits in 16 innings against Liriano this year.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Cardinals were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position Wednesday. They still own an impressive .327 mark in such situations.

2. Pirates LF Starling Marte (hand) may begin to take batting practice next week.

3. Pittsburgh C John Buck was 3-for-3 Thursday in his debut with the club after being traded from the New York Mets on Tuesday.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 4, Pirates 3