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Sep 4, 2009 - 12:01 AM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

St. Louis (79-55) at Pittsburgh (53-79), 7:05 p.m. EDT

The St. Louis Cardinals' nine-game homestand ended in defeat, but there's little reason to believe there's another coming as they seek to avoid their first consecutive losses since late July.

That's because Adam Wainwright will be on the hill Friday night against the woeful Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, where the right-hander will seek to continue his dominant second half by becoming baseball's first 17-game winner.

St. Louis (79-56) lost games at Philadelphia on July 25 and 26, completing a seven-game road trip at 2-5 and falling one-half game behind the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.

The Cardinals have been the best team in the majors since, winning 26 of 34 to turn that slim deficit into a 10 1/2 game lead over the rival Cubs.

Despite a 4-3 loss Thursday afternoon to Milwaukee, St. Louis closed its homestand 7-2 and has won 10 of its past 11 series - splitting the other.

The Cardinals left nine men on base and went 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position Thursday.

"It's part of the game," left fielder Matt Holliday, who homered, told the Cardinals' official Web site. "Those things happen. You're going to have days where (it's like that)."

Pitching has spurred the Cardinals' second-half surge. The trio of Wainwright, Chris Carpenter and Joel Pineiro is 26-2 with a 2.06 ERA in 35 starts since July 1, with St. Louis going 31-4 in those outings.

Wainwright (16-7, 2.47 ERA) has been the best of the bunch, posting four consecutive wins and going 6-1 with a 1.13 ERA in his last eight starts. He hasn't allowed more than two runs in a start since June 26.

Wainwright gave up one run and three hits over six innings Sunday, striking out seven in a 2-1 win over Washington that prompted Nationals leadoff hitter Willie Harris to declare Wainwright "by far is the best pitcher I've faced this year."

"Adam rose to the occasion," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said of the right-hander, who has worked at least six innings in 26 consecutive starts, the best streak in the majors. "Again."

Wainwright limited the Pirates (53-79) to one run and seven hits over 6 2-3 innings in a 5-3 win at PNC Park on Aug. 8, though he has a mediocre 4.42 ERA in nine career starts versus Pittsburgh.

Pirates rookie outfielders Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones are both 2 for 3 against Wainwright.

Pittsburgh completed a nine-game homestand Aug. 17-27 with a 7-2 mark, but reverted back to its last-place form during a seven-game road trip. The Pirates failed to win once, extending their road losing skid to 11 with a 5-3 loss at Cincinnati on Wednesday.

"We'll be all right," manager John Russell said. "We play good at home. Turn the page."

That wasn't the case Aug. 7-9, when the visiting Cardinals swept Pittsburgh as Carpenter, Wainwright and Pineiro all picked up victories. Another sweep this weekend would give the Pirates their 82nd loss, guaranteeing them a professional sports record 17th consecutive losing season.

St. Louis star Albert Pujols performs better in Pittsburgh than anywhere else. His .381 average at PNC Park is his highest of any current NL park where he's played at least seven games, and he has 21 homers and 64 RBIs in 68 games there.

Pujols is 0 for 1 against Kevin Hart (4-4, 4.34), who will try to bounce back from his third loss in four games. The right-hander, acquired from the Cubs on July 30, gave up four runs over six innings Saturday in a 7-3 loss at Milwaukee.

Hart has a 2.25 ERA in two career relief appearances against St. Louis.