Ponce de Leon expected to start for the Cardinals against Mets

St. Louis Cardinals (33-33, third in the NL Central) vs. New York Mets (33-34, third in the NL East)

Flushing, Queens; Friday, 7 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Daniel Ponce de Leon (0-0, 1.80 ERA, .80 WHIP, 7 strikeouts) Mets: Steven Matz (5-4, 3.88 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 66 strikeouts)

LINE: Mets favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Mets host the St. Louis Cardinals for a doubleheader Friday.

The Mets are 19-11 on their home turf. New York is averaging 4.6 RBIs per game this season. Pete Alonso leads the team with 49 total runs batted in.

The Cardinals are 13-20 on the road. St. Louis’s lineup has 80 home runs this season, Marcell Ozuna leads them with 18 homers. The Cardinals won the last meeting 6-4. Dakota Hudson earned his first victory and Paul Goldschmidt went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for St. Louis. Noah Syndergaard took his second loss for New York.

TOP PERFORMERS: Alonso leads the Mets with 49 RBIs and is batting .254. Todd Frazier is 8-for-30 with a double, three home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games for New York.

Ozuna leads the Cardinals with 18 home runs and has 55 RBIs. 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: Mets: 5-5, .259 batting average, 4.48 ERA

Cardinals: 5-5, .218 batting average, 3.77 ERA, outscored by eight runs

Mets Injuries: Justin Wilson: 10-day IL (elbow), Drew Smith: 60-day IL (elbow), Luis Avilan: 10-day IL (elbow), Brandon Nimmo: 10-day IL (neck), Yoenis Cespedes: 60-day IL (heels), Jed Lowrie: 60-day IL (knee), Robinson Cano: 10-day IL (quad).

Cardinals Injuries: Adam Wainwright: 10-day IL (hamstring), Mike Mayers: 10-day IL (shoulder), Ryan Helsley: 10-day IL (shoulder), Brett Cecil: 60-day IL (wrist/forearm), Jedd Gyorko: 10-day IL (back).