St. Louis @ Pittsburgh preview
PNC Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 3, 2018 ) St. Louis 6, Pittsburgh 7
The Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals seem to be headed in opposite directions, and the surging Pirates would like to continue that trend when they continue their three-game series against the visiting Cardinals on Saturday. Pittsburgh took Friday’s opener 7-6 to move a game ahead of the Cardinals for third place in the National League Central.
The Pirates, who have won 10 of their last 13 home games, remain 6 1/2 games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs. Pittsburgh is 28-17 against division opponents and has won 10 of its last 11 against NL Central teams. The Cardinals were coming off a solid 5-2 homestand against the Cubs and Colorado Rockies, but they left 16 men on base in Friday’s defeat. The remainder of the nine-game road trip, which includes two more against Pittsburgh followed by three-game sets against last-place teams Miami and Kansas City, could make or break the Cardinals’ chances of staying in the NL playoff picture.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FS Midwest (St. Louis), AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals LH Austin Gomber (1-0, 3.22 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Ivan Nova (6-6, 4.33)
Gomber will make his second big-league start, sliding over from the bullpen to fill in for the injured Carlos Martinez. The 24-year-old threw 6 1/3 innings of no-hit ball in his first start July 24 at Cincinnati before allowing a single and a homer to the next two batters. Gomber made his major-league debut against the Pirates on June 2, allowing one walk in three hitless innings of relief.
The Pirates have won the last four games Nova has started, though he has only one quality start over that stretch. The 31-year-old made it through six innings only once in five starts in July, and he allowed four runs (three earned) over five-plus frames in a no-decision against the New York Mets last time out. Nova is 1-2 with a 4.18 ERA in four starts against St. Louis.
WALK-OFFS
1. St. Louis 2B Kolten Wong (knee) will be activated from the disabled list before Saturday’s game
2. Pirates 3B/1B David Freese is 9-for-21 with two homers and 10 RBIs in the first seven games of the current homestand.
3. Cardinals INF Matt Carpenter hit his 23rd career leadoff home run Friday, adding to his franchise record, and leads the majors with eight leadoff blasts this season.
PREDICTION: Pirates 6, Cardinals 4