Pittsburgh @ St. Louis preview
Busch Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 1, 2013 ) St. Louis 7, Pittsburgh 2
The St. Louis Cardinals have dropped six of their last eight contests to skid into Friday's opener of a pivotal three-game series with the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cardinals, who reside 1 1/2 games behind first-place Pittsburgh in the National League Central, were outscored 14-8 en route to losing two of three to the Pirates last weekend. Pittsburgh, which is assured of its first non-losing season in 21 years, has won 10 of the 16 meetings between the division rivals.
While the Pirates enjoyed an off day on Thursday, the Cardinals were not as fortunate. St. Louis was upended by four solo homers en route to a 6-2 setback to Cincinnati, which inched closer in the standings by winning three of four in the series. David Freese also went deep for the Cardinals, who played without Allen Craig as he deals with a sprain in his left foot.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), FSMW (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH A.J. Burnett (7-9, 3.09 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Joe Kelly (7-3, 2.82)
Burnett allowed one run on four hits in seven innings for the second time in three outings to pull out a victory over St. Louis on Saturday. The win improved the 36-year-old to 8-5 with a 3.79 ERA in his career versus the Cardinals. Burnett posted a similar line against St. Louis on July 30, but settled for a no-decision - as was the case after he permitted five runs in 4 1/3 innings on Aug. 15.
Kelly recorded his fourth victory in as many starts and seventh in a row after allowing one run in six innings against Pittsburgh on Sunday. The 25-year-old has proven to be nothing if not consistent, going six innings in each of his last four starts. Kelly has permitted just nine homers - including two in his last nine outings.
WALK-OFFS
1. St. Louis 2B Matt Carpenter is 8-for-20 (.400) against Burnett.
2. Pittsburgh OF Andrew McCutchen homered in his last two games while collecting hits in his last four. He is just 1-for-5 versus Kelly.
3. Freese's homer was first since Aug. 4.
PREDICTION: Pirates 3, Cardinals 2