Pittsburgh Pirates

Williams and the Pirates take on division rival St. Louis

Published May. 9, 2019 3:22 a.m. ET

Pittsburgh Pirates (17-16, fourth in the NL Central) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (21-16, second in the NL Central)

St. Louis; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Joe Musgrove (1-3, 2.63 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 32 strikeouts) Cardinals: Michael Wacha (1-0, 5.17 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 33 strikeouts)

LINE: Cardinals favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: NL Central opponents St. Louis and Pittsburgh will square off at Busch Stadium.

The Cardinals are 10-10 against NL Central opponents. The St. Louis offense has compiled a .258 batting average as a team this season, good for fifth in the National League. Jose Martinez leads the team with a mark of .343.

The Pirates are 6-5 against teams from the NL Central. This is the first meeting of the season for these two teams.

TOP PERFORMERS: Marcell Ozuna leads the Cardinals with 30 RBIs and is batting .244. Yadier Molina is 10-for-33 with two doubles, a home run and nine RBIs over the last 10 games for St. Louis.

Josh Bell leads the Pirates with 23 extra base hits and has 27 RBIs. Melky Cabrera is 14-for-32 with two doubles, two home runs and six RBIs over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 5-5, .225 batting average, 4.03 ERA, outscored by 11 runs

Pirates: 5-5, .247 batting average, 5.23 ERA, outscored by 14 runs

Cardinals Injuries: Mike Mayers: 10-day IL (shoulder), Carlos Martinez: 10-day IL (shoulder), Brett Cecil: 60-day IL (wrist/forearm).

Pirates Injuries: Jameson Taillon: 10-day IL (elbow), Edgar Santana: 60-day IL (elbow), Chad Kuhl: 60-day IL (elbow), Keone Kela: 10-day IL (shoulder), Nick Burdi: 10-day IL (biceps), Chris Archer: 10-day IL (thumb), Corey Dickerson: 10-day IL (shoulder), Lonnie Chisenhall: 10-day IL (finger), Erik Gonzalez: 60-day IL (collarbone), Jacob Stallings: 10-day IL (neck).