St. Louis @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 22, 2010 ) St. Louis 6, Pittsburgh 11

All of a sudden the Pittsburgh Pirates appear to be taking aim at the Seattle Mariners.

The Pirates will be looking to pull closer in their battle to not finish the season with the worst record in the majors when they go for a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.

It’s still a long shot, but after five straight victories Pittsburgh has pulled to within five games of the Mariners who, at 58-93, are the next-worst team in the majors this season.

The Pirates took three in a row from the Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend and have spent the last two days taking care of a Cardinals team that has apparently forgotten how to win. Paul Maholm came into Tuesday’s start with a 7.88 ERA over his previous nine games but had no problem shutting down the St. Louis lineup in a 5-2 victory.

The Cardinals had an even easier target on Wednesday in Charlie Morton, who came into the game owning the highest ERA of any pitcher in the majors with at least 60 innings under their belt at 8.61. But Morton too had little trouble, allowing two runs on four hits in six innings to earn his first win since May.

The loss dropped St. Louis to 4-20 against teams with losing records since August 11, the last day that they were alone in first place. They now trail the Cincinnati Reds by eight games with just 10 remaining.

Jeff Suppan will once again try to salvage what’s left of his career when he takes the mound for the Cardinals on Thursday. The veteran right-hander has seen his numbers get progressively worse in each of the last four seasons and looks as though he is coming to the end of a solid career with a 1-7 record and a 5.61 ERA in 2010.

But St. Louis pitching coach Dave Duncan has worked magic with Suppan before and it’s possible the Cardinals could take another turn with the 35-year-old if he continues to improve over his last couple of outings.

Suppan was back in the rotation last week after a brief bullpen tour and performed well against the San Diego Padres, allowing one run on five hits in five innings. His best start this season came against the Pirates back on July 31 when he surrendered five hits and struck out five in 5 1/3 scoreless innings. Pittsburgh has always been a good matchup for Suppan, who owns a 15-3 record with a 4.20 ERA against the club in his career.

The Pirates will counter with left-hander Brian Burres. The 29-year-old has made three strong starts in a row since returning to the rotation, allowing a total of four earned runs in 20 innings while striking out 12 and walking one.

Burres has never faced St. Louis in his career but has been at his best in 2010 at PNC Park, where he owns a 2-0 record with a 2.32 ERA in seven games (four starts).