Soroka, Braves to face Hudson, Cardinals on Saturday
Atlanta Braves (29-23, second in the NL East) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (25-25, fourth in the NL Central)
St. Louis; Saturday, 7:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Braves: Mike Soroka (5-1, 1.01 ERA, .85 WHIP, 41 strikeouts) Cardinals: Dakota Hudson (3-3, 4.40 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, 31 strikeouts)
LINE: Braves favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: St. Louis and Atlanta will play at Busch Stadium Saturday.
The Cardinals are 15-11 on their home turf. The St. Louis offense has compiled a .260 batting average as a team this season, good for fourth in the MLB. Jose Martinez leads the team with a mark of .324.
The Braves are 15-11 on the road. Atlanta’s team on-base percentage of .331 is second in the National League. Freddie Freeman leads the lineup with an OBP of .406. The Braves won the last meeting 5-2. Mike Foltynewicz earned his first victory and Dansby Swanson went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBIs for Atlanta. Miles Mikolas took his fifth loss for St. Louis.
TOP PERFORMERS: Paul DeJong leads the Cardinals with 54 hits and has 21 RBIs. Marcell Ozuna is 9-for-41 with three doubles, three home runs and 10 RBIs over the last 10 games for St. Louis.
Freeman leads the Braves with 13 home runs and has 32 RBIs. Austin Riley is 14-for-40 with a double, five home runs and 12 RBIs over the last 10 games for Atlanta.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 2-8, .248 batting average, 5.65 ERA, outscored by 13 runs
Braves: 8-2, .270 batting average, 2.26 ERA, outscored opponents by 29 runs
Cardinals Injuries: Mike Mayers: 10-day IL (shoulder), Brett Cecil: 60-day IL (wrist/forearm).
Braves Injuries: Chad Sobotka: 10-day IL (abdomen), Darren O’Day: 10-day IL (forearm), Ender Inciarte: 10-day IL (lumbar strain).