Friday night’s game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardi

nals at Busch Stadium should be sponsored by the letter K http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-curtis-granderson-jersey , because there figures to be more than a few strikeouts.If young right-handers Walker Buehler of the Dodgers and Jack Flaherty of the Cardinals pitch on Friday as they did Aug. 22 when they faced each other at Chavez Ravine, runs and solid contact might be at a premium in a game dripping with pennant-race pressure.Buehler (6-5, 3.09 ERA) fired seven shutout innings in that game against the Cardinals last month, permitting just three hits and two walks while whiffing nine. Flaherty (8-6, 2.92) owned a no-hitter until Joc Pederson cracked a solo homer with one out in the bottom of the sixth. It was the only hit Flaherty, who walked two and fanned 10, allowed in six innings.Article continues below ...Los Angeles’ bullpen gave it up in the last two innings that night. Tyler O’Neill clouted a pinch-homer off Scott Alexander in the eighth and Paul DeJong drilled a tie-breaking two-run shot off Kenley Jansen in the ninth to give St. Louis a 3-1 win that polished off a series sweep.The Cardinals (81-66) lead the Dodgers (80-67) by one game in the race for the National League’s second wild-card spot, thanks to Los Angeles’ 9-7 win Thursday night. The Dodgers led wire-to-wire, including 8-1 at one point J.A. Happ Jersey , yet couldn’t really exhale until Matt Adams grounded out to first as the potential tying run to end the game.Manny Machado starred for Los Angeles with three hits, including a double and his 34th homer of the year in the seventh inning.“I just tried to go up there and be myself, have quality at-bats,” Machado said to Sportsnet LA. “Every out, every pitch from now on counts. One play can turn things around, so we have to be on top of it. We did everything we needed to do today.”The Dodgers, who at times have experienced terrible difficulties hitting with runners in scoring position over the last month, set the game’s tone with a great at-bat in that situation in the first inning. David Freese taxed rookie left-hander Austin Gomber for 14 pitches, fouling off nine of them Kendrys Morales Jersey , before lacing a two-run triple down the left-field line.Freese, who gets cheered during every at-bat in St. Louis because he was the 2011 World Series Most Valuable Player for the Cardinals, was acquired just before the Aug. 31 waiver deadline from Pittsburgh.“It’s always great coming back here and seeing the fans,” Freese said. “I’m excited to be a part of this. I’m on the back end of my career, sitting at 35 years old.”One of Freese’s former Cardinals teammates made his way back into the lineup Thursday night for this big series. All-Star catcher Yadier Molina (hamstring) missed six games, and probably isn’t 100 percent, but St. Louis wanted him back in there.The Cardinals plan for him to catch every game in the series except for Saturday, which is a 12:05 p.m. start after the Friday night game.“He’s very confident he can regulate himself in what he’s doing so not to have a setback, which we clearly don’t need Jesse Barfield Jersey ,” St. Louis manager Mike Shildt said of Molina. CC Sabathia has confirmed 2019 will be his last year as a Major League Baseball pitcher.The New York Yankees left-hander made the announcement Saturday during a press conference."I just wanted to make this announcement that 2019 is my final season," Sabathia said.Bryan Hoch BryanHoch#Yankees LHP CC Sabathia announces that 2019 will be his final mlb season: GMfNVIOxxZSabathia had been expected to make public his decision retire at the end of his 19th season. SNY.tv's Andy Martino reported Wednesday the Yankees were planning a press conference this weekend for the six-time All-Star.New York Yankees YankeesOne mans #LegaCCy. Oooh3RnPsw"All I ever wanted was to be remembered as a good teammate ... and I anticipate 2019 will be a championship season," Sabathia said, per ESPN's Coley Harvey.It's a testament to how beloved Sabathia is that the Yankees rounded up a number of quotes from athletes, celebrities and government officials congratulating him on a great career:James Wagner ByJamesWagnerThe Yankees amassed a wide array of voices about Sabathia鈥檚 career, from Derek Jeter to LeBron James to Steve Kerr to Fat Joe: sN1dbPYcsEBryan Hoch BryanHochAmong those congratulating CC Sabathia on his career: LeBron James. a3MIYWLUORSabathia, 38, has had health problems in recent years. He's only reached 30 starts in a season once since 2014 and has fallen short of 155 innings three times during that span.The Athletic's Ken Rosenthalreported in December that Sabathia had to undergo an angioplasty after a blockage was found in one of the arteries in his heart."We are thankful that CC was smart enough to convey his symptoms to our medical staff, and in turn http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-curtis-granderson-jersey , they immediately engaged New York-Presbyterian Hospital, who quickly determined the root cause of what ailed him," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters. "We are also encouraged that the procedure CC underwent was performed as planned."Knee problems have also been an ongoing problem for Sabathia. The California native has had to wear a brace that helps keep him stabilized while pitching and will eventually need to have knee replacement surgery.In the prime of his career, Sabathia was one of the best pitchers in MLB. He debuted at age 20 for the Cleveland Indians in 2001, finishing second in AL Rookie of the Year voting to Ichiro Suzuki.PerFanGraphs, Sabathia's 67.8 wins above replacement lead all MLB pitchers since 2001.Sabathia won the AL Cy Young Award and helped Cleveland reach the American League Championship Series in 2007. The southpaw had one of the best second-half runs in 2008. He posted a 1.65 ERA with seven complete games in 17 starts after being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers to help the team win the NL Wild Card.After he signed with the Yankees the following offseason, Sabathia finished in the top four of AL Cy Young voting in each of his first three years with the team. He was named MVP of the ALCS en route to helping New York win the World Series in 2009.The Yankees have championship aspirations this season after they won 100 games in 2018. Sabathia will attempt to end his career on a high note with another World Series title before hanging up his cleats for good.