St. Louis @ Colorado preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 2, 2018 ) Colorado 2, St. Louis 3

The Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals are both riding hot streaks and each team is making a run at first place in their respective divisions. The Cardinals and Rockies are also locked in a duel for the top two wild cards in the National League as they prepare to open a three-game series on Friday night at Colorado's Coors Field.

St. Louis has won 13 of its last 15 after completing a three-game sweep at the Los Angeles Dodgers to move atop the wild-card chase and into second place in the NL Central. "It shows the resilience of our team. Everyone steps up on a nightly basis," said Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong, who delivered a tie-breaking two-run homer in the ninth during Wednesday's series finale in Los Angeles. "It's always someone new coming through." The Rockies are coming off a dramatic win of their own as Ian Desmond clubbed a walk-off two-run blast in the ninth in Thursday's 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres. It was the 10th win in 12 games for the Rockies to pull them into a virtual tie for the second wild card - a half-game behind St. Louis - and one game back of division-leading Arizona in the NL West.

TV: 8:40 p.m. ET, FS Midwest (St. Louis), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Colorado)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Miles Mikolas (13-3, 2.80 ERA) vs. Rockies RH Antonio Senzatela (4-3, 4.47)

Mikolas continued his rags-to-riches tale after spending the past three years pitching in Japan, winning his fifth consecutive decision by limiting Milwaukee to one run and five hits over six innings on Saturday. He has permitted two runs or fewer in nine of his last 11 starts. That included a no-decision against the Rockies on Aug. 2, when he yielded two runs (one earned) over seven innings.

Senzatela has rebounded nicely from a pair of rocky efforts that sandwiched the All-Star break, when he was touched for 10 runs over 11 1/3 innings in losses at Seattle and Arizona. He has allowed a combined four runs over his last three starts, including a no-decision against Mikolas and St. Louis when he pitched six innings of one-run ball. Senzatela is 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA in six home appearances.

WALK-OFFS

1. Rockies SS Trevor Story is 10-for-25 over his last six games.

2. St. Louis has homered in 15 consecutive games, one shy of Philadelphia's season-best mark.

3. Rockies LF Matt Holliday made his season debut and went 0-for-3 in his first game with Colorado since 2008.

PREDICTION: Rockies 4, Cardinals 3