Atlanta Braves (40-52, fourth in the NL East) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (50-44, third in the NL Central)
PITCHING PROBABLES: Braves: Grant Holmes (4-8, 3.44 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 118 strikeouts); Cardinals: Matthew Liberatore (6-6, 3.70 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 80 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Cardinals host the Atlanta Braves on Friday to open a three-game series.
St. Louis is 50-44 overall and 28-18 in home games. The Cardinals have hit 94 total home runs to rank eighth in the NL.
Atlanta has a 16-30 record in road games and a 40-52 record overall. The Braves have the 10th-ranked team slugging percentage in the NL at .