Pittsburgh @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( May 3, 2012 ) Pittsburgh 6, St. Louis 3

The Pirates and Cardinals were tied for second in the National League Central before Pittsburgh salvaged a four-game series split in Philadelphia with a 5-4 victory on Thursday, improving to 20-11 since May 25. The up-and-down Cardinals had a five-game win streak snapped in Miami on Wednesday. St. Louis has won both series between the clubs this season, taking four of the six games.

Despite a largely punchless offense, the Pirates have remained in playoff contention behind a strong pitching staff that ranks fifth in the major leagues with a 3.47 ERA. Starters A.J. Burnett and James McDonald are a combined 14-5, and the back-end bullpen combination of Jason Grilli and Joel Hanrahan has been extremely effective. St. Louis has leaned on an offense that ranks among the league leaders in most major categories.

TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, ROOT Sports (Pittsburgh), Fox Sports Midwest (St. Louis)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Kevin Correia (3-6, 4.03 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Adam Wainwright (6-7, 4.32)

Correia has been solid if unspectacular lately, going 2-1 while the Pirates have won four of his last six starts. He took a loss against Detroit on June 24 despite allowing just two runs in six innings, and he has given up three runs or fewer in seven of his last nine outings. Correia has made 13 appearances (six starts) against St. Louis, going 2-3 with a 3.86 ERA.

Wainwright hasn’t gotten much help lately — the Cardinals are 1-2 in his his last three outings even though he has yielded just five runs on 16 hits in 21 innings during that stretch, striking out 19. He got a win over Pittsburgh on May 1 despite giving up four runs in seven innings. Wainwright is 8-3 with a 4.79 ERA in 18 career games (14 starts) against the Pirates.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Pirates have been awful on the road in recent years, winning just 78 of their last 245 away games. They are 17-22 away from home this season.

2. St. Louis hitters are a combined 36-for-118 (.305) against Correia, led by INF Skip Schumacher (7-for-16, 2 2B, RBI).

3. Pittsburgh INF Casey McGehee is just 1-for-15 in his career against Wainwright. RF Jose Tabata is 4-for-9 with a home run and three RBIs.