St. Louis @ Pittsburgh preview
PNC Park
Last Meeting ( May 8, 2010 ) St. Louis 0, Pittsburgh 2
As the weather turned cold in Pittsburgh this weekend, with game-time temperatures dropping more than 30 degrees from Friday to Saturday, it fit right in with the St. Louis Cardinals' offense.
Luckily for the Cardinals, they don't often need much offense when they send Adam Wainwright to the mound.
Wainwright will try to deliver a series victory today for the first-place Cardinals, who have scored only seven runs in their last five games after being shut out Saturday.
After being blanked only once in their first 27 games, the Cardinals have been shut out twice in their last four, including Saturday's four-hitter by Jeff Karstens and four Pittsburgh relievers.
The first of those three shutouts accounted for Wainwright's only loss of the season, a 2-0 defeat at San Francisco.
Even then, the 28-year-old right-hander was outstanding. He hasn't allowed more than three runs in any of his six starts and has pitched eight or more innings four times.
Wainwright's 1.96 ERA is seventh in the National League, but he has been the victim of St. Louis' disappearing offense, not only in the shutout loss to the Giants but also in a 2-1 defeat at Philadelphia on Tuesday.
In that one, Wainwright gave up one run on four hits over eight innings, but the Phillies won in 10 innings.
The slumping St. Louis hitters have caught Pittsburgh at the wrong time. The Pirates have allowed only nine runs over their last five games, winning four of them. Pittsburgh's starters have given up only four earned runs in 31 1/3 innings during that span.
Left-hander Paul Maholm started the positive trend by beating the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, and he'll look to keep it going today. Maholm went six innings against Chicago, allowing two runs on eight hits. He has had decent success against the Cardinals, going 3-3 with a 3.09 ERA in 10 starts against St. Louis.
Maholm has been dominant against Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday, who is 1-for-14 lifetime against him, though the one hit was a home run. Holliday might not be in the lineup, however, because of a strained groin. He didn’t start Saturday but delivered a pinch-hit single in the eighth and hopes to play today.
Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen continued his hot streak with two doubles Saturday. The center fielder is 9 for 13 in his last four games and 22 for 50 in his last 12.