SAN FRANCISCO -- The St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants have trusted veteran pitchers ready to go in the opener of a critical four-game series Thursday night.In a rematch of a June 3 duel in St. Louis, won 5-1 by San Francisco, the Cardinals will send out Adam Wainwright to face Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto.At stake is wild-card positioning in the National League playoff hunt, with the Giants (76-67) entering the series in the top spot, a half-game ahead of the New York Mets (77-69) and one game up on the Cardinals (76-69).The game will be played at AT&T Park in San Francisco, which doesnt bother the Cardinals one bit. St. Louis has a far better record on the road (43-28) than at home (33-41), which is where the Cardinals beat the Giants two out of three in the June series.The Cardinals are coming off 7-0 home loss to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday to complete a 3-4 homestand against the Milwaukee Brewers and Cubs.Brandon Moss expects a different mind-set when the club enters enemy territory on Thursday night.Were pressing a little at home, trying to right the ship. Obviously its not having gone well, he said after Wednesdays loss. Were putting a little too much pressure on us. But when we go on the road, we play a little more loose, a little more relaxed, and hopefully that continues.Wainwright had one of the wins on the homestand, a 5-1 victory Saturday over the Brewers. He has won both his September starts.The veteran has gone 5-6 with a 3.06 ERA in 13 career outings (11 starts) against the Giants.The Cardinals are used to seeing Cueto, a former NL Central rival with the Cincinnati Reds.The 15-game winner has been just a six-game winner in his career against the Cardinals, going 6-8 with a 3.88 ERA in 21 career meetings.Cueto can only hope for more offensive support than the Giants gave Madison Bumgarner in Wednesdays 3-1 loss to the San Diego Padres.San Francisco got only four hits in the game, capping a three-game sweep by the Padres in which the Giants hit just 21-for-97 (.216).Now were playing a team were battling with, noted Giants manager Bruce Bochy, hoping the raised stakes inspire a better performance from his team. Weve got to recover. These guys have done a good job of that (in the past).The Giants are just 20-35 since the All-Star break, the worst record in the majors.The second half, this is something Ive never seen before, Bumgarner observed after Wednesdays loss. The only thing to do is come out (Thursday) and try to win. Its tough, but its the only thing you can do.While the Giants and Cardinals are locking horns, the Mets will be hosting the team with the worst record in the American League, the Minnesota Twins, in a three-game series that begins Friday.The Los Angeles Dodgers (82-63), who have opened a five-game lead over the Giants in the NL West, open a four-game set against the last-place Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday night.Cheap Yankees Jersey . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. Yankees Jersey Authentic . 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Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015.Kevin Pietersen says superstar Ben Stokes missing the rest of Englands Test series against Sri Lanka is a big blow for the player.England prepare for the second Test at the Emirates Riverside on Friday without Stokes, who will miss out on playing at his county home ground, as well as the third and final Test at Lords on June 9, after aggravating a knee injury in Englands first-Test win at Headingley.The loss of Stokes is seen as a significant blow for England, with Sky Sports pundit Dominic Cork saying England will miss him. And Pietersen, who scored more than 8,000 runs in 104 Tests for England, believes Stokes absence will be a huge loss, who he says is one of the countrys finest players.Its a big blow for Ben Stokes, hes a wonderful player, a superstar, and hes going to do some great things for England, Pietersen told Sky Sports News HQ. Kevin Pietersen and Stokes batted together for England during the 2013 Ashes series Hes going to play stupid shots and get out in silly ways, but hes going to add a lot more pleasure to people watching the game than he is anything else.I fully support and endorse the way he plays his crricket and its just sad that hes going to be missing out.ddddddddddddPietersen feels Stokes game is a similar style to his own in the way that he likes to entertain spectators.I didnt give two hoots out about the way I got out and the manner in which I got out, I repeated mistakes but I was out there to entertain and whack the ball, he added. Kevin Pietersen has experience against Pakistan bowlers having played in the PSL Pietersen does not think Sri Lanka, who lost by an innings and 88 runs in the first Test, will pose as great a challenge as Pakistan, who tour England later this summer.With Pakistan you cant write them off yet because their bowling attack is ridiculous, Pietersen said.Ive faced some of them and I played in the PSL [Pakistan Super League] in Dubai and there are wonderful players in there.That will hopefully be more competitive then the Sri Lankan series but [I still think] England win.Also See:Beefy backs Root, BroadWillis: Id play BallStokes a big miss for EnglandStokes set to miss SL series Cheap Jerseys [uroot, BroadWillis: Id play BallStokes a big miss fo