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Cardinals-Giants Preview

May 28, 2009 - 9:03 PM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

St. Louis (28-19) at San Francisco (23-23), 10:15 p.m. EDT

The St. Louis Cardinals have regained the NL Central lead thanks to some spectacular pitching performances lately. Two big bats back in the lineup could be a welcome boost for their slumping offense.

Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel are expected to play Friday night when St. Louis opens a three-game set at AT&T Park against the resurgent San Francisco Giants.

St. Louis (28-19), winner of two in a row and seven of nine, took a one-game lead in the division over Milwaukee with Wednesday's 3-2 victory against the Brewers. The Cardinals' pitching has been outstanding during this nine-game stretch, posting a 0.88 ERA, but the team has averaged just 3.4 runs and is batting .228.

Ludwick is expected to be taken off the disabled list after straining his right hamstring in a 7-1 loss at Pittsburgh on May 12. He is batting .462 (12 for 26) with three homers and eight RBIs lifetime against San Francisco.

"Ludwick's a quality producer, so (the offensive production has) got to be better," manager Tony La Russa told the Cardinals' official Web site.

La Russa said Albert Pujols will be glad to see Ludwick back in the lineup, but Nick Stavinoha has done a solid job since being called up from Triple-A Memphis following Ludwick's injury.

"I've been fortunate to put a couple of decent nights together while I've been given the opportunity," said Stavinoha, batting .278 with a homer and seven RBIs in his last six games.

Ankiel went 1 for 4 with a double in Sunday's 3-2 loss to Kansas City after missing 17 games with a bruised right shoulder, but he did not play in the three-game set against Milwaukee due to recurring soreness.

St. Louis is looking for a spark from its offense, but that could be difficult as it faces Matt Cain (5-1, 2.40 ERA) in the series opener. The right-hander is 3-0 with a 1.61 ERA in his last four starts, beating Seattle 5-1 on Saturday when he struck out seven in a complete-game effort to help San Francisco snap a four-game slide.

"We threw a lot of first pitch strikes and a lot of their hits were done kind of quick," Cain said after throwing 81 of his 111 pitches for strikes.

Cain is 0-1 with a 9.58 ERA in two career starts against the Cardinals. He gave up a career-high nine runs in 3 2-3 innings in an 11-1 loss to St. Louis on April 18, 2008.

The Giants (23-23) look for their season-best fifth straight victory at home after winning all three against Atlanta - their first three-game sweep of the season.

Aaron Rowand went 2 for 4 with two doubles as he extended his hitting streak to eight in Wednesday's 6-3 win. He is 5 for 12 with two homers lifetime against Friday's scheduled starter, Joel Pineiro.

Pineiro (5-4, 3.52) has been moved up a day in the rotation after right-hander Kyle Lohse was scratched due to a welt on his right forearm. Pineiro, who has not walked a batter in four straight starts, allowed three runs in seven innings of Sunday's 3-2 loss. Pineiro, a career .098 hitter, drove in one of the runs with a single.

"We just haven't given our pitchers the cushion that they deserve," second baseman Skip Schumaker said.

Pineiro is 0-2 with an 8.10 ERA in two career starts against San Francisco.