The St. Louis Cardinals (13-25) will be trying to pick up their second consecutive series win when they face the Boston Red Sox (22-16) in the second game of their three-game interleague series on Saturday afternoon.
Steven Matz, 0-4, 5.70 ERA, will get the start for the Cardinals. The Red Sox will counter with Chris Sale, 3-2, 6.37 ERA.
Boston is 7-3 in its last 10 games against St. Louis.
**This preview was written before Friday’s game was played**
The Cardinals snapped their three-series losing streak with a series win over the Cubs. They will try to keep the momentum going with a win over the Red Sox. Which will give them their fourth win in their last five games.
St. Louis is averaging 4.45 runs per game. Their .258 batting average is ninth in the league. Their .328 on base percentage is 11th, as is their .418 slugging percentage.
Paul Goldschmidt leads the Cardinals with a .306 batting average, while Nolan Gorman leads the team with eight home runs and 24 RBI.
St. Louis’ pitching hasn’t been good, with the team giving up five runs per game. Opponents have a .278 batting average against the Cardinals, which is 28th in the league. Their 4.64 ERA is 21st, while their 1.49 WHIP is 27th.
In his last start, Matz gave up five hits and one run in 5.1 innings, leading to a 12-6 win over Detroit. They will need a similar effort from him if they want to win this game.