Pittsburgh Pirates

St. Louis hosts Pittsburgh, aims to build on Mikolas' strong showing

Published May. 12, 2019 3:24 a.m. ET

Pittsburgh Pirates (19-17, fourth in the NL Central) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (22-18, third in the NL Central)

St. Louis; Sunday, 2:15 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Steven Brault (0-1, 7.11 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 16 strikeouts) Cardinals: Dakota Hudson (0-3, 4.63 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, 29 strikeouts)

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

BOTTOM LINE: The Cardinals are 11-12 against teams from the NL Central. The St. Louis offense has compiled a .263 batting average as a team this season, good for second in the majors. Jose Martinez leads the team with an average of .340.

The Pirates are 8-6 against NL Central Division teams. Pittsburgh's team on-base percentage of .294 is last in the majors. Josh Bell leads the lineup with an OBP of .363. The Pirates won the last meeting 2-1. Trevor Williams secured his second victory and Adam Frazier went 1-for-4 with a home run and an RBI for Pittsburgh. Andrew Miller registered his second loss for St. Louis.

TOP PERFORMERS: Paul DeJong leads the Cardinals with 49 hits and is batting .327. Yadier Molina has 12 hits and is batting .000 over the last 10 games for St. Louis.

Bell leads the Pirates with nine home runs and is batting .300. Melky Cabrera has 12 hits and is batting .000 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: 60-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).