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Pineiro, Backe look to build for 2008 when Cardinals host Astros

Sep 21, 2007 - 2:33 PM Houston (67-86) at St. Louis (71-81) 8:10 pm EDT

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- The St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros have played themselves out of postseason contention with less than two weeks to play.

However, a pair of pitchers will be looking to make a good impression for 2008 when the Cardinals host the Astros on Friday.

St. Louis gives the ball to Joel Pineiro (6-4, 4.71 ERA), who began the season as the 12th man in the Boston Red Sox bullpen before being designated for assignment in late July.

The Cardinals converted Pineiro back into a starter, and the righthander has performed admirably in that role. However, with both Chris Carpenter and Mark Mulder expected back from injury to start next season, Pineiro will have to be impressive to earn a spot in the rotation for 2008.

Pineiro will have to find a way to stop an Astros offense that pounded out 23 hits and a season-high 18 runs in Thursday's 18-1 victory.

Rookie catcher J.R. Towles blasted his first career homer and plated a franchise-record eight RBI for Houston, which has won four of its last six games.

The Astros on Friday give the ball to Brandon Backe (1-1, 4.86), who is just hoping to be healthy for the beginning of 2008 after missing the first five months this season recovering from "Tommy John" surgery.

The 29-year-old Backe has been plagued by injuries in each of the past three seasons and has made just 11 total starts since 2005. The righthander picked up his first win of the season last Sunday, surrendering two runs and three hits in six innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates.