Pirates at Cardinals
After playing a flurry of games dominated by offense, the Pittsburgh Pirates finally showed they could prevail in a tight, low-scoring content -- and knocking off their biggest nemesis was a bonus. The Pirates will continue a four-game set in St. Louis on Saturday afternoon after leveling the series and beating the Cardinals for the first time in four attempts this season.
Pittsburgh bounced back from a 17-4 shellacking in the series opener to squeeze out a 2-1 victory Friday night as Starling Marte delivered a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning. Adam Frazier homered and extended his hitting streak to seven games as the Pirates beat St. Louis for the fifth time in 19 meetings. One night after establishing a season-high total in runs, the Cardinals' offensive struggles returned as they stranded 10 and were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Paul Goldschmidt had his second straight three-hit game and is 6-for-10 in the series for St. Louis, which has dropped seven of its last nine games.
TV: 2:15 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, FS Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Jordan Lyles (2-1, 2.20 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Miles Mikolas (4-2, 4.02)
Lyles followed his shortest outing of the season with his longest, working 6 2/3 innings and limiting Oakland to one run and five hits in a no-decision on Sunday. It marked the fifth time in six starts he permitted two runs or fewer, even though he lasted just four innings in a no-decision in his previous turn at Texas. Goldschmidt (10-for-20) is among a number of players with success against Lyles, who is 0-3 with a 4.91 ERA in nine appearances (four starts) versus St. Louis.
Mikolas has turned a corner since his slow start and won his second straight start with a superb performance last time out versus Philadelphia, striking out five and allowing three hits over seven scoreless innings. He beat Washington on the road with six innings of one-run ball in his previous turn and is 4-1 over his last six outings. Frazier is 8-for-18 against Mikolas, who was 1-2 with a 2.90 ERA versus the Pirates in 2018 and tossed five innings of three-run ball against them in April.
WALK-OFFS
1. Pirates 1B Josh Bell has six doubles and 10 RBIs during a 10-game hitting streak.
2. Cardinals 3B Matt Carpenter is 3-for-19 against Pittsburgh this season.
3. Pirates RH Chris Archer (thumb) said he is ready to rejoin the rotation after throwing a four-inning simulated game Friday.