Pittsburgh @ St. Louis preview
Busch Stadium
Last Meeting ( Aug 25, 2011 ) Pittsburgh 4, St. Louis 8
THE STORY: The host Cardinals have no margin for error as they continue a four-game series with the Pirates on Friday. St. Louis’ 8-4 win on Thursday cut its deficit in the NL Central to 9 ½ games behind the idle Brewers. After this series, the Cards head to Miller Park for a three-game series against Milwaukee that likely represents their last chance to make things interesting. St. Louis, which got a bases-loaded single from David Freese and a homer from Matt Holliday on Thursday, ranks third in the NL with 604 runs scored. That’s 110 more than the Pirates, who rank 13th.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, FS-M, ROOT
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Jake Westbrook (10-7, 4.70 ERA) vs. Pirates RH James McDonald (8-6, 4.21 ERA) –
Westbrook is coming off a seven-inning, two-run performance against the Cubs. But batters are hitting .283 against him. In seven career appearances against the Pirates, Westbrook is 0-3 with a 5.32 ERA.
McDonald is 2-1 with a 3.05 ERA in seven career appearances against St. Louis. He’s allowed three runs or less in his last three starts. But Pittsburgh is 1-4 in his last five starts.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS (68-63): Second baseman Skip Schumaker had hits in five straight at-bats and six of his previous seven before grounding out in the first inning Thursday. Outfielder Allen Craig, who went 2-for-4 Thursday, is hitting .562 against the Pirates this season. Slugger Albert Pujols has raised his average to .290 as he moves closer to another .300 season. He has never hit lower than .312 in a season. But shortstop Rafael Furcal is hitting just .214 as a Cardinal.
ABOUT THE PIRATES (61-69): Pittsburgh must finish 21-11 to end at .500 or better for the first time since 1992. The Pirates, who were tied for first on July 24, have dropped six of nine and sit 16 games behind the Brewers. Outfielder Jose Tabata had a 10-game hitting streak snapped on Thursday. The 8-4 loss overshadowed a fine effort by reliever Chris Leroux, who allowed one hit over 2 2/3 innings.
FINAL PITCH: The season series is tied 5-5.