Pirates at Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals took their time heeding manager Mike Shildt's advice on Friday, but it ended up paying off in the end as they snapped their five-game skid. The Cardinals look to win back-to-back games for the first time in over two weeks when they host the middle contest of their three-game series against the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.
Shildt pleaded with his team to "control the strike zone" following a winless West Coast road trip during which St. Louis totaled seven runs. The Cardinals appeared on their way toward another low-scoring effort in the series opener until Paul Goldschmidt and Marcell Ozuna sparked a four-run eighth inning to break open a tie game en route to a 6-2 victory. While St. Louis remained one-half game out in the National League wild-card race and closed within three of the first-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central, Pittsburgh's second-half nightmare continued with their sixth straight loss. Pittsburgh, which is 4-10 against the Cardinals this season, has gone 4-22 since the All-Star break.
TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh, FS Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Joe Musgrove (8-10, 4.69 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Adam Wainwright (7-8, 4.50)
Back stiffness likely contributed to the worst outing of the season for Musgrove, who was pounded for a season-high eight runs and 10 hits over 3 1/3 innings in a loss to the New York Mets on Sunday. The 26-year-old's struggles were a departure from his previous eight turns, in which he went 4-2 with a 3.09 ERA. Goldschmidt (5-for-10, homer) and Dexter Fowler (5-for-11, four extra-base hits) have enjoyed facing Musgrove, who is 0-3 with a 12.08 ERA in three starts versus the Cardinals this season.
Wainwright continued to struggle with his control Sunday in Oakland, allowing three runs on six hits and three walks over 5 1/3 innings to suffer his first loss since June 26. The three-time All-Star is 5-2 with a 2.26 ERA in 10 home outings, but he has issued 10 free passes in his last three turns. Wainwright recorded his only win over his last four starts in Pittsburgh on July 24 despite giving up four runs on five hits and four walks in five frames.
WALK-OFFS
1. Goldschmidt finished 2-for-4 with the go-ahead RBI single in the series opener after beginning August by going 3-for-23 without an RBI.
2. Pittsburgh 1B Josh Bell, who led the majors with 30 doubles at the All-Star break, notched only four in his club's first 25 games of the second half before hitting two more on Friday.
3. Ozuna has homered in consecutive contests after recording one single in 12 at-bats over his first four games following a stint on the injured list.