Cardinals host the Braves to open 3-game series

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Atlanta Braves (54-38, first in the NL East) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (48-44, third in the NL Central)

St. Louis; Friday, 8:15 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Braves: Chris Sale (9-6, 2.27 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 112 strikeouts); Cardinals: Kyle Leahy (7-4, 3.86 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 73 strikeouts)

LINE: Braves -168, Cardinals +137; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Cardinals host the Atlanta Braves to open a three-game series.

St. Louis has a 24-25 record at home and a 48-44 record overall. The Cardinals have the fifth-ranked team ERA in the NL at 4.20.

Atlanta has a 27-20 record in road games and a 54-38 record overall. Braves hitters have a collective .414 slugging percentage to rank sixth in the NL.

Friday's game is the fourth time these teams meet this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jordan Walker leads the Cardinals with 22 home runs while slugging .539. Alec Burleson is 10 for 37 with two home runs and nine RBIs over the past 10 games.

Matt Olson has 24 doubles and 25 home runs while hitting .270 for the Braves. Michael Harris II is 16 for 46 with three doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 4-6, .229 batting average, 3.78 ERA, outscored opponents by nine runs

Braves: 5-5, .255 batting average, 5.30 ERA, outscored opponents by seven runs

INJURIES: Cardinals: Max Rajcic: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ryne Stanek: day-to-day (leg), Ramon Urias: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Braves: Martin Perez: 15-Day IL (forearm), Ha-Seong Kim: 10-Day IL (finger), Spencer Strider: 60-Day IL (elbow), Robert Suarez: 15-Day IL (elbow), Ronald Acuna Jr.: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Sean Murphy: 60-Day IL (finger), Spencer Schwellenbach: 60-Day IL (elbow), AJ Smith-Shawver: 60-Day IL (elbow), Joe Jimenez: 60-Day IL (knee), Joey Wentz: 60-Day IL (knee)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.