St. Louis @ Pittsburgh preview
PNC Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 6, 2009 ) St. Louis 5, Pittsburgh 6
Chris Carpenter is used to shutting down opponents. Now the St. Louis Cardinals need their ace to halt their season-long, three-game losing streak.
Carpenter and the Cardinals continue their tour of Pennsylvania tonight, heading to Pittsburgh to begin a three-game series with the Pirates, who are riding a three-game winning streak after sweeping the Chicago Cubs.
After winning eight of nine, the Cardinals lost the last three games in their four-game set at Philadelphia, but they still lead the NL Central by 3 1/2 games over Cincinnati. On the strength of their sweep of the Cubs, the Pirates have pulled into third, just a game behind the Reds.
The Cardinals are counting on Carpenter to help them pad that cushion. He has fared well against the Pirates, going 11-1 with a 2.27 ERA in 13 career starts against them and winning his last 10 decisions vs. Pittsburgh. His only loss to the Pirates was in June 2004.
With the exception of one bad start - April 11 at Milwaukee - Carpenter has picked up where he left off last year, when he finished second in the National League Cy Young Award voting. He is 4-0 with a 2.84 ERA in six starts, but five of his 12 earned runs came in that five-inning stint against the Brewers.
The 35-year-old right-hander has won his last two starts, including a 6-0 win against Cincinnati on Sunday in which he allowed only two hits and three walks in seven scoreless innings. He struck out eight, giving him 32 strikeouts in his last four starts.
The Pirates' starting rotation, maligned early in the year, was lights out against the Cubs. Paul Maholm, Charlie Morton and Brian Burres gave up a combined four runs over 19 innings in the series.
Now they turn to 27-year-old left-hander Zach Duke to keep it going. After beginning the year with three solid starts - and two wins - Duke has lost his last three starts. He was knocked around by the Brewers twice in five days and then gave up four runs on nine hits over six innings in a 5-1 loss at Los Angeles on Saturday.
Duke is 4-5 with a 3.73 ERA in 13 starts against St. Louis.
Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, who is riding an 11-game hitting streak, has hit Duke well - he is 16-for-34 (.471) against him with three home runs. Rookie third baseman David Freese has hit safely in 10 straight games for St. Louis.
The Pirates also have some hot bats in their lineup. They matched a season high with 11 runs Thursday against Chicago. Garrett Jones has seven hits and six RBIs in the last four games and Andrew McCutchen is 4-for-6 with two RBIs in two games since sitting out Tuesday with a sprained right ankle.