• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Braves-Cardinals Preview

Sep 11, 2009 - 5:33 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Atlanta (71-68) at St. Louis (84-57), 8:15 p.m. EDT

Compared to how he's pitched over the past two months, Joel Pineiro has not been at his best for the St. Louis Cardinals in September.

Trying for a ninth straight victory while hoping to bounce back from a pair of subpar outings, Pineiro looks to help the Cardinals to their fourth consecutive win in the opener of a weekend set against the visiting Atlanta Braves on Friday night.

St. Louis improved to 31-9 since July 27 following a 5-1 win over Milwaukee on Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep, and Pineiro (14-9, 3.28 ERA) is a big reason the Cardinals (84-57) have an 11 1/2-game lead in the NL Central.

The right-hander is 8-0 with a 3.09 ERA in his last 12 starts with the Cardinals posting an 11-1 record. Pineiro, Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter are the backbone of a starting rotation whose 3.55 ERA is second-best in the majors.

"I think the biggest thing with this club has really been its pitching," general manager John Mozeliak told the Cardinals' official Web site. "We're rolling out Carp, Wainwright and Pineiro, who have been really impressive."

Pineiro last lost on June 28, but he's 1-0 with a 5.54 ERA in two starts this month. He allowed four runs for the second straight outing, this time over six innings in a 6-5 loss at Pittsburgh on Sunday in a game where he did not record a decision despite having a three-run lead.

Pineiro, who allowed more than three runs once in his previous 10 starts heading into September, is 1-1 with a 5.94 ERA in three starts against the Braves. That win came after he allowed two runs and six hits in 6 2-3 innings of a 3-2 victory at Atlanta on April 27.

With their postseason hopes fading, the Braves (72-68) took two of three at Houston after winning 9-7 on Thursday for their second victory in eight contests.

All-Star Brian McCann, who was 0 for 17 in his previous five games, had four hits and two RBIs for Atlanta, which broke out after scoring 10 runs in its previous six contests.

Jair Jurrjens (10-10, 2.93), who went six innings and allowed two runs and six hits to take the loss against Pineiro and the Cardinals earlier this year, has pitched well of late but is looking to avoid losing his third straight start.

The right-hander, who's 1-2 with a 2.60 ERA in his last five starts, allowed three runs and four hits with three walks in seven innings of a 3-1 loss to Cincinnati on Friday. Jurrjens has either not recorded a decision or taken a loss in 12 of his 29 starts in which he has allowed two earned runs or less.

"I don't know what to say anymore. It's getting frustrating, considering how important these games are," said Jurrjens, who's 0-2 with a 3.46 ERA against St. Louis.

Matt Holliday is 6 for 10 with two doubles against Jurrjens, and batting .379 with 12 homers and 42 RBIs in 43 games for St. Louis since being acquired from Oakland on July 24.

Albert Pujols homered twice Wednesday the Cardinals. Looking to win a second straight NL MVP award, Pujols has a major-league leading 47 home runs, two shy of his career high set in 2006,

St. Louis took two of three at Atlanta in April.