Pittsburgh @ St. Louis preview
Busch Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 23, 2010 ) St. Louis 9, Pittsburgh 2
The St. Louis Cardinals are officially dead men walking.
With the Cincinnati Reds needing just a win or a Cardinals loss in the last week of the season to clinch the NL Central, St. Louis will host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night in the first of three games at New Busch Stadium.
The Cardinals have limped to the finish line, losing 25 of their last 40 games after being tied with the Reds on Aug. 14.
One player who is not playing out the string is National League MVP candidate Albert Pujols. The first baseman homered in an 8-7 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday and has three homers and seven RBIs in his last four games. Overall, he leads the league with 42 homers and 116 RBIs.
Kyle Lohse (4-8, 7.18 ERA) will start for the Cardinals. Times haven’t been good for Lohse since winning 15 games for the Cards in 2008. He is 10-18 with a 5.72 ERA the last two years.
In his last start, the right-hander was tagged for six runs and seven hits in three frames in a an 11-6 loss to Pittsburgh on Wednesday, snapping his personal season-long two-game winning streak. Lohse did beat the Bucs on Aug. 23, yielding two runs and six hits in 5 2/3 frames in the 10-2 triumph.
The Pirates counter with Charlie Morton (2-11, 8.11 ERA), who has been tagged for 98 hits and 14 homers in 67 2/3 innings this season. Morton got off to a terrible start in 2010, going 1-9 with a 9.35 ERA in his first 10 starts before going on the disabled list with a sore shoulder.
He didn’t fare much better when he returned, getting blasted for 14 runs over 7 2/3 frames in his first two starts. The 26 year-old has pitched well in his last three games, allowing seven runs over 17 1/3 frames.
Morton beat the Cardinals and Lohse on Wednesday, his first win since beating the Chicago Cubs on May 5. The right-hander allowed a pair of runs, four hits and a walk in six innings while striking out five.
Busch Stadium could bring back nightmares for Morton, who was blasted 18-3 in his lone start here back in 2008. He recorded four outs, but surrendered five hits and four runs.
Pittsburgh closed out its home schedule in style, winning seven of nine against the Arizona Diamondbacks, St. Louis and Houston Astros to finish 40-41 at PNC Park. Pedro Alvarez had three hits and two RBIs and Neal Walker had two hits and three RBIs in a 9-3 win on Sunday.
However, it has been the road that has killed the young Pirates. Pittsburgh is 15-59 on the road – the fewest road wins in a season since the Boston Red Sox won 13 in 1935.
The Cardinals lead the season series, 7-5.