Cardinals visit Miami, look to build on Hudson's solid showing
St. Louis Cardinals (33-32, third in the NL Central) vs. Miami Marlins (23-42, fifth in the NL East)
Miami; Wednesday, 7 p.m. EDT
LINE: Cardinals favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 7 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: St. Louis heads into the matchup after a strong showing by Dakota Hudson. Hudson pitched seven innings, surrendering one run on four hits with six strikeouts against Miami.
The Marlins are 11-23 in home games. Miami has hit 48 home runs this season, last in the National League. Jorge Alfaro leads the club with nine, averaging one every 20.1 at-bats.
The Cardinals are 13-19 on the road. The St. Louis offense has compiled a .247 batting average as a team this season, Jose Martinez leads the team with a mark of .288. The Cardinals won the last meeting 7-1. Dakota Hudson earned his fifth victory and Marcell Ozuna went 2-for-5 with a home run and an RBI for St. Louis. Elieser Hernandez registered his first loss for Miami.
TOP PERFORMERS: Brian Anderson leads the Marlins with 19 extra base hits and is slugging .377. Starlin Castro is 9-for-43 with three doubles, a home run and 10 RBIs over the last 10 games for Miami.
Ozuna leads the Cardinals with 31 extra base hits and is batting .267. Harrison Bader is 6-for-30 with two doubles, a triple, two home runs and five RBIs over the last 10 games for St. Louis.
LAST 10 GAMES: Marlins: 4-6, .256 batting average, 3.62 ERA, outscored opponents by 12 runs
Cardinals: 6-4, .223 batting average, 2.86 ERA, outscored opponents by two runs
Marlins Injuries: Jose Urena: 10-day IL (back), Drew Steckenrider: 60-day IL (elbow), Caleb Smith: 10-day IL (hip), Riley Ferrell: 60-day IL (bicep), Julian Fernandez: 60-day IL (elbow), Peter O'Brien: 10-day IL (ribcage), Neil Walker: 10-day IL (quad), Jon Berti: 10-day IL (oblique), Chad Wallach: 10-day IL (concussion).
Cardinals Injuries: Adam Wainwright: 10-day IL (left hamstring tightness), Miles Mikolas: day-to-day (forearm), Mike Mayers: 10-day IL (shoulder), Brett Cecil: 60-day IL (wrist/forearm), Jedd Gyorko: 10-day IL (back).
