Pirates at Cardinals
Just as the Pittsburgh Pirates appeared to be heading into a crucial 11-game road trip with a head of steam, a meltdown by their bullpen led to a crushing defeat that stalled their momentum. The Pirates must regroup and try to figure out how to solve a National League Central rival in the process when they play the first of four at the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night.
Pittsburgh was on its way to a fourth consecutive victory Wednesday, holding a four-run lead and needing six outs before the bullpen imploded in a 9-6 home loss to Texas. The Pirates wasted a mammoth homer by red-hot Josh Bell, who became the four player in PNC Park history to reach the Allegheny River on the fly. The Cardinals won both meetings this season to improve to 13-4 in the last 17 between the teams, but they will stumble into the series having lost six of seven overall. St. Louis was outscored 16-1 by Philadelphia in the past two games and scraped out just three hits in Wednesday's 3-0 setback.
TV: 7:45 p.m. ET, MLB Network, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, FS Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Joe Musgrove (1-3, 2.63 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Michael Wacha (2-0, 5.17)
Musgrove turned in his first clunker of the season and lost his second straight start last time out against Oakland, getting battered for seven runs (five earned) and six hits while lasting only 2 2/3 innings. That ended a string of five consecutive quality starts for the 26-year-old, who allowed a combined 10 runs in that span and has yet to yield more than six hits in an outing. Marcell Ozuna is 4-for-9 with a pair of doubles off Musgrove, who was 1-2 with a 4.26 ERA in three starts against St. Louis last year.
Wacha escaped with a no-decision at the Chicago Cubs last time out after he was charged with five runs (four earned) over five innings while continuing to struggle with his control. He won his previous two turns on the road at Washington and Milwaukee, permitting a combined five runs and nine hits, but has served up six home runs and walked 21 batters in 31 1/3 innings. Wacha is 6-3 with a 3.53 ERA in 16 appearances (15 starts) against the Pirates but needs to be wary of Jung Ho Kang, who is 4-for-9 with a homer off him.
WALK-OFFS
1. Bell is 12-for-33 with nine RBIs during an eight-game hitting streak.
2. Cardinals 1B Paul Goldschmidt is 3-for-25 with 10 strikeouts in his last seven games.
3. Pittsburgh placed RH Keone Kela on the 10-day injured list due to right shoulder inflammation.