St. Louis @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 5, 2016 ) St. Louis 12, Pittsburgh 6

The Pittsburgh Pirates are playing their way out of contention for a National League wild card and have dropped under .500 during a seven-game slide. The Pirates will try to end the skid and gain back a game in the wild card chase when they host the St. Louis Cardinals in the second of a three-game series on Tuesday.

Pittsburgh fell 4 1/2 games behind the Cardinals in the race for the second NL wild card with a 12-6 setback in Monday’s series opener, which dropped it to 0-4 on a 10-game homestand that began with three straight losses to Milwaukee over the weekend. The Pirates’ offense has been shut out three times during the seven-game losing streak and the pitching has taking its lumps of late with a total of 29 runs allowed in the last three games. St. Louis is more concerned at this point with the New York Mets, who are one game back in the wild card race. The Cardinals are pulling out of their own hitting slump and pushed across 17 runs in back-to-back wins after being held to four in three consecutive losses.

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

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Luke Weaver (1-2, 3.86 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Ryan Vogelsong (3-4, 3.56)

Weaver showed off some dominant stuff with 10 strikeouts in six innings at Milwaukee on Wednesday but was charged with three runs and four hits to suffer the loss. The Florida native allowed three runs or fewer in all of his four major-league starts but also yielded a home run in each and has yet to pitch into the seventh inning. Weaver is seeing the Pirates for the first time and is 0-2 with a 4.80 ERA on the road.

Vogelsong is 2-3 with a 3.44 ERA in six starts since being activated from the disabled list, but is coming off his worst outing in that span. The veteran was reached for five runs on six hits and three walks in five-plus innings at the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. Vogelsong came out of the bullpen and recorded an out against St. Louis on May 8 and is 3-7 with a 5.75 ERA in 22 career games – 11 starts – against the Cardinals.

WALK-OFFS

1. Pirates C Francisco Cervelli (left thumb discomfort) left Monday’s game and is day-to-day.

2. St. Louis SS Aledmys Diaz (fractured thumb) will play in the field at Double-A Springfield on Tuesday and could return to the majors by the weekend.

3. Pittsburgh RF Gregory Polanco is 5-for-41 in the last 11 games.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 5, Pirates 2