Seattle @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 16, 2010 ) Seattle 2, St. Louis 1

A strong pitching matchup is on tap when St. Louis ace Adam Wainwright faces Seattle All-Star Hisashi Iwakuma as the Cardinals host the Mariners in Friday’s opening contest of a three-game series. Wainwright is one victory behind 17-game winner Jordan Zimmermann for the National League lead and Iwakuma is fifth in the American League with a 2.97 ERA. The Cardinals lost to Milwaukee on Thursday to slip into a first-place tie with Pittsburgh in the NL Central.

Seattle has lost four consecutive games and was just outscored 25-7 during a three-game sweep by the lowly Houston Astros. St. Louis won the first five contests of its nine-game homestand before getting just six hits in Thursday’s 5-3 loss to the Brewers. The Cardinals hope to have Yadier Molina back in the lineup for the opener as he's missed two straight games due to his mother’s illness.

TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, ROOT (Seattle), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Hisashi Iwakuma (12-6, 2.97 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Adam Wainwright (16-9, 3.03)

Iwakuma is 2-0 over his last five starts and has allowed three or fewer runs in each outing during the stretch. He has a 1.04 WHIP and is limiting batters to a .228 average but has been touched for 25 home runs. Iwakuma is 7-3 with a 2.86 ERA in 14 road starts this season.

Wainwright is coming off a stellar outing against Pittsburgh in which he gave up two hits and two walks while striking out eight in seven scoreless innings. The start represented a well-timed turnaround as he allowed 15 runs and 17 hits over eight frames in his previous two turns. Wainwright beat the Mariners in his lone career outing against them in 2010, when he gave up three runs and six hits in seven innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. St. Louis OF Carlos Beltran is in the midst of a 15-game homerless streak dating back to Aug. 24.

2. Seattle DH Kendrys Morales hit his 100th career homer in Wednesday’s loss to the Astros.

3. Cardinals 1B Allen Craig (foot) was re-evaluated Thursday, but there remains no firm timeline for his return. He was injured on Sept. 4.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 4, Mariners 3