Flaherty, Cardinals to face Samardzija, Giants on Sunday
St. Louis Cardinals (44-43, third in the NL Central) vs. San Francisco Giants (40-48, fifth in the NL West)
San Francisco; Sunday, 4 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Jack Flaherty (4-5, 4.90 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 101 strikeouts) Giants: Jeff Samardzija (5-7, 4.32 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 78 strikeouts)
LINE: Cardinals favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Either St. Louis or San Francisco will take home a series victory with a win.
The Giants are 19-26 in home games. The San Francisco offense has compiled a .232 batting average as a team this season, last in the league. Buster Posey leads the team with a mark of .255.
The Cardinals are 20-25 on the road. The St. Louis pitching staff has a team ERA of 4.18, Jack Flaherty leads the staff with a mark of 4.90. The Giants won the last meeting 8-4. Sam Dyson earned his third victory and Pablo Sandoval went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs for San Francisco. Miles Mikolas registered his ninth loss for St. Louis.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kevin Pillar leads the Giants with 31 extra base hits and is slugging .422. Evan Longoria is 9-for-27 with two doubles, four home runs and 10 RBIs over the last 10 games for San Francisco.
Paul Goldschmidt leads the Cardinals with 16 home runs and is batting .254. Jose Martinez is 12-for-42 with two doubles, three home runs and three RBIs over the last 10 games for St. Louis.
LAST 10 GAMES: Giants: 6-4, .289 batting average, 4.40 ERA, outscored opponents by 19 runs
Cardinals: 4-6, .255 batting average, 4.40 ERA, outscored by 12 runs
Giants Injuries: Nick Vincent: 60-day IL (pectoral), Johnny Cueto: 60-day IL (elbow), Madison Bumgarner: day-to-day (elbow), Travis Bergen: 10-day IL (shoulder).
Cardinals Injuries: Mike Mayers: 60-day IL (shoulder), Jordan Hicks: 10-day IL (elbow), John Gant: day-to-day (leg), Brett Cecil: 60-day IL (wrist/forearm), Marcell Ozuna: 10-day IL (hand), Jedd Gyorko: 10-day IL (back), Matt Carpenter: 10-day IL (back).
