St. Louis @ Detroit preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 7, 2018 ) St. Louis 3, Detroit 5

The St. Louis Cardinals' bullpen has been at the heart of the team's recent struggles and it will try to get past another late-inning defeat in the continuation of a three-game series at the Detroit Tigers on Saturday. Jeimer Candelario's walk-off two-run homer against Jordan Hicks lifted the Tigers to a 5-3 win in the opener of the interleague set Friday night.

It was the fourth loss in the last six games for the Cardinals - including two extra-inning losses and a pair of walk-off defeats - and left them 1 1/2 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the race for the top spot in the National League wild card race. Marcell Ozuna was the bright spot for St. Louis on Friday as he notched his second two-homer effort in the past three games. Jack Flaherty has been on a phenomenal run for the Cardinals, winning all four of his decisions since the start of August, but struggled a bit with his command at Washington on Monday. He will try to find his dominant form again when he starts Saturday opposite Tigers left-hander Matthew Boyd.

TV: 6:10 p.m. ET, FS Midwest (St. Louis), FS Detroit

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Jack Flaherty (8-6, 2.83 ERA) vs. Tigers LH Matthew Boyd (9-12, 4.24)

Flaherty has allowed five runs in 37 innings over a span of six starts, but he was able to last just five innings due to five walks in a no-decision earlier in the week. Opponents have only 17 hits in that six-game stretch and they are hitting .192 overall against the 22-year-old, the second-lowest mark in the National League for pitchers with at least 120 innings. Flaherty, who is facing Detroit for the first time, is 1-1 with a 3.78 ERA in three career interleague games.

Boyd won at Yankee Stadium with six innings of three-run ball Sunday afternoon, striking out six and walking one. It marked his fifth quality start in a span of eight outings, during which the Oregon State product owns a solid 3.44 ERA. Boyd has an unsightly 6.06 mark in eight career interleague games (six starts), although he spun eight scoreless innings against Cincinnati in his most recent matchup with an NL team.

WALK-OFFS

1. Cardinals C Yadier Molina (hamstring) is expected to miss the entire series.

2. The Tigers have won three straight, their longest run since a five-gamer in the middle of June.

3. Detroit is 22-11 all time against St. Louis and 13-3 in the 16 meetings at Comerica Park.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 5, Tigers 3