Cardinals at Pirates
The St. Louis Cardinals are trying to build on their lead in the National League Central and stay ahead of the pack as the season comes down the stretch and taking advantage of a soft spot in the schedule is key. The Cardinals missed their first opportunity while squandering a lead on Friday but will try to bounce back when they visit the Pittsburgh Pirates for the second of a three-game series on Saturday.
St. Louis, which has not dropped back-to-back games in nearly a month, is facing sub-.500 Pittsburgh and Colorado on the six-game road trip while trying to stay clear of the second-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. The Cardinals looked primed to gain a game in the standings when they went into the bottom of the seventh inning with a 4-1 lead on Friday, but the Pirates exploded for six runs with two out in the seventh and added two more in the eighth to keep St. Louis' lead at 2 1/2 games. Pittsburgh, which sits in last place in the Central, won 10 of its last 14 games and is primed to play spoiler with more games against the Cardinals and six left against Chicago the rest of the way. St. Louis will try to bounce back on Saturday behind veteran right-hander Adam Wainwright while the Pirates counter with lefty Steven Brault.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FS Midwest (St. Louis), AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Adam Wainwright (10-9, 4.30 ERA) vs. Pirates LH Steven Brault (4-3, 3.88)
Wainwright turned in a gem against San Francisco on Monday, scattering four hits over seven scoreless innings to reach double digits in wins for the 10th time in his career. The 38-year-old struggled in his previous two turns while allowing seven runs and 14 hits over 8 2/3 total innings. Wainwright had little trouble at home against Pittsburgh on Aug. 10, when he yielded one run and six hits in six innings to earn the win.
Brault earned his first win since June 14 when he held Colorado to two runs - one earned - and four hits in 6 1/3 innings on Sunday. The 27-year-old allowed three or fewer earned runs in five of six starts since coming off the injured list on Aug. 6. The lone outlier in that span came at St. Louis on Aug. 11, when he was ripped for four runs on five hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Pirates 2B Adam Frazier recorded multiple hits in five of his last six games.
2. Cardinals 3B Tommy Edman is 5-for-13 with five extra-base hits and five runs scored in the last three games.
3. St. Louis LHP Andrew Miller allowed at least one run in three of his last four appearances.