St. Louis hosts Pittsburgh after Wainwright's strong showing
Pittsburgh Pirates (18-17, fourth in the NL Central) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (22-17, third in the NL Central)
St. Louis; Saturday, 2:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Jordan Lyles (2-1, 2.20 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 29 strikeouts) Cardinals: Miles Mikolas (2-2, 4.02 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 28 strikeouts)
LINE: Cardinals favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Cardinals are 11-11 against teams from the NL Central. St. Louis' team on-base percentage of .340 is fifth in the MLB. Dexter Fowler leads the team with an OBP of .407.
The Pirates are 7-6 in division games. Pittsburgh's team on-base percentage of .294 is last in the majors. Josh Bell leads the team with an OBP of .363. The Pirates won the last meeting 2-1. Trevor Williams earned his second victory and Adam Frazier went 1-for-4 with a home run and an RBI for Pittsburgh. Andrew Miller took his second loss for St. Louis.
TOP PERFORMERS: Marcell Ozuna leads the Cardinals with 11 home runs and is slugging .547. Yadier Molina is 12-for-32 with three doubles, a home run and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for St. Louis.
Bell leads the Pirates with nine home runs and is batting .300. Starling Marte is 12-for-43 with a double, two home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 3-7, .251 batting average, 4.08 ERA, outscored by seven runs
Pirates: 6-4, .257 batting average, 5.94 ERA, outscored by 20 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).
