Pittsburgh @ St. Louis preview
Busch Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jul 30, 2010 ) Pittsburgh 0, St. Louis 1
The St. Louis Cardinals have been struggling to score runs. That may not be a problem against Daniel McCutchen.
The Cardinals look to continue their winning ways at home on Saturday when they host the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium.
St. Louis has won eight of its last nine home games, with its only loss in that span being a 2-0 extra-inning setback to the Philadelphia Phillies on July 22. However, the Cardinals' offensive woes continued during their 2-4 road trip and were evident again Friday, when they managed to pull out a 1-0 victory in 10 innings after waiting out a 2-hour, 20-minute rain delay.
The Cardinals have scored two runs or less in five of their last eight contests, three of which saw them fail to score at all. It appeared they might suffer the same fate in the series opener with the Pirates until Brendan Ryan plated Ryan Ludwick with a one-out infield single in the 10th.
Pittsburgh, which has lost 26 of its last 30 road games and six of eight overall, received a stellar performance from Jeff Karstens. The right-hander scattered seven hits over six innings, giving him 12 scoreless frames in two starts against the Cardinals this season.
St. Louis has a good chance to break out of its funk against McCutchen, who is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis for his third tour of duty with Pittsburgh this year.
McCutchen went 1-4 with an 8.58 ERA in seven games - six starts - earlier this season. In 28 1/3 innings, he has surrendered 27 earned runs and 36 hits, including 10 home runs.
The 27-year-old yielded four runs and four hits over five innings in a 6-3 loss at the Houston Astros on July 7, his last outing with the Pirates. McCutchen is 0-3 with a 9.98 ERA in four games, including one relief appearance, on the road in 2010.
St. Louis will counter with Jeff Suppan, who has gone 0-4 with a 4.75 ERA in seven starts since joining the Cardinals on June 14 after being released by the Milwaukee Brewers. On July 23, the 35-year-old was battered for five runs and 10 hits in six innings of a 5-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Suppan also has been victimized by the long ball, serving up 10 homers in 45 1/3 innings as a starter.
The veteran right-hander has had plenty of success against the Pirates during his career, going 14-3 with a 4.35 ERA in 25 career games - including one relief appearance. Suppan has only faced Pittsburgh once this year, allowing one run in one inning of a relief stint on April 26 while with Milwaukee.
One Pirate who has done well against Suppan is Garrett Jones, who is 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBIs.