St. Louis @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 9, 2013 ) Pittsburgh 1, St. Louis 6

The Pittsburgh Pirates look to get their offense in gear against a solid pitching staff when they host the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday to start a three-game series. The Pirates won two of three against the Cubs to begin the season, but managed only seven runs in 35 innings and are hitting .175. The Cardinals try to follow up their victory over Pittsburgh in the National League Division Series last year after winning two of three against Cincinnati to open their campaign.

Reigning National League MVP Andrew McCutchen and NL home run co-champion Pedro Alvarez are a combined 2-of-25 with eight strikeouts, but Pittsburgh’s pitching has been outstanding. The Pirates will send Gerrit Cole to the mound against Shelby Miller in a battle of promising young hurlers. Miller was 10 games over .500 against everyone else in the league last season, but lost all four decisions Pittsburgh.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), ROOT (Pittsburgh)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Shelby Miller (2013: 15-9, 3.06 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Gerrit Cole (2013: 10-7, 3.22)

The Pirates scored 13 earned runs off Miller in 22 innings, but those four days did not stop him from having an outstanding first full season. The 23-year-old struck out 169 in 173 1/3 innings and allowed 152 hits before getting only one inning of work against Pittsburgh in relief during the playoffs. Russell Martin is 3-of-7 with a pair of homers against Miller while Jose Tabata and Alvarez also took him deep.

Cole looks to build off a strong finish after going 4-0 with a 1.69 ERA last September and pitching two strong games in the playoffs against the Cardinals, allowing three runs over 11 innings. The first-overall pick in the 2011 draft struck out 100 and walked only 28 in 117 1/3 innings in 2013. Yadier Molina hit a home run in the playoffs off Cole, who allowed eight earned runs in 11 2/3 innings during the spring.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Pirates won 10 of 19 games against the Cardinals in the regular season before dropping three of five in the playoffs.

2. St. Louis SS Jhonny Peralta’s first hit for his new team was a two-run homer in the 7-6 victory over Cincinnati on Thursday.

3. Pittsburgh LHP Tony Watson has gone 21 straight appearances without allowing a run, dating back to Aug. 6, 2013.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 4, Pirates 2