Cardinals start 3-game series at home against the Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates (65-70, fourth in the NL Central) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (67-68, third in the NL Central)

St. Louis; Friday, 8:15 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Jared Jones (2-5, 4.76 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 77 strikeouts); Cardinals: Quinn Mathews (0-2, 6.43 ERA, 1.79 WHIP, 13 strikeouts)

LINE: Pirates -119, Cardinals -104; over/under is 7 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Cardinals host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday to open a three-game series.

St. Louis has a 33-36 record in home games and a 67-68 record overall. The Cardinals have gone 45-26 in games when they record eight or more hits.

Pittsburgh has gone 31-38 on the road and 65-70 overall. The Pirates have gone 44-19 in games when they scored at least five runs.

Friday's game is the eighth time these teams match up this season. The Cardinals have a 5-2 advantage in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Alec Burleson has 21 home runs, 46 walks and 99 RBI while hitting .292 for the Cardinals. Jordan Walker is 12 for 41 with two doubles, three home runs and nine RBI over the past 10 games.

Nick Gonzales has a .305 batting average to lead the Pirates, and has 22 doubles, a triple and six home runs. Bryan Reynolds is 11 for 40 with three RBI over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 3-7, .252 batting average, 7.12 ERA, outscored by 21 runs

Pirates: 5-5, .201 batting average, 3.09 ERA, outscored by one run

INJURIES: Cardinals: Blaze Jordan: day-to-day (ankle), Masyn Winn: 10-Day IL (thumb), Peter Strzelecki: 15-Day IL (forearm), Everson Pereira: 10-Day IL (hand), Hunter Dobbins: 15-Day IL (forearm), Andre Pallante: 15-Day IL (elbow), Max Rajcic: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Pirates: Endy Rodriguez: 10-Day IL (hip), Mitch Keller: 60-Day IL (arm), Ryan O'Hearn: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Konnor Griffin: 60-Day IL (finger)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.