Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals: What to Expect
The Pittsburgh Pirates have been playing above expectations throughout the month of April, and part of that is because of their ability to win series. They didn't win the series with the Royals this week, but they earned a split of the two-game series and still have not lost a series since the April 5th to April 7th games in Cincinnati. They look to continue that stretch this weekend as they welcome in National League Central Rivals the St. Louis Cardinals for the first time in 2021. It may be a bit too early to look at the standings, but this is an early-season battle for second place in the division. Pirates and Cardinals games always have a flare, but this series will test the Young Buc's competitiveness and see how they match up against one of the top teams in the division.
The Pirates have shown resiliency this season, even in their losses like on Wednesday. Even though they fell behind 6-0, they continued to fight the entire game and found their way back into the ball game, making the score 6-5, before eventually falling 9-6. That resiliency will once again be tested as they try to take full possession of second place in the NL Central. It might not mean much in the grand scheme of things, but it will go a long way towards giving these young players the confidence that they can battle against a top-ranked team. Today, we look at this three-game weekend series and tell you what to expect as these NL Central rivals do battle.
Scouting The Cardinals
After getting out to a hot start in the beginning of the season that saw them go 5-2 in their first seven games. After a slump in the middle of the month where they went 2-6, the Cardinals have gotten back on track as if late. They are coming off of a split of their four-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies and are currently sitting a half-game over the Pirates for second place in the NL Central. The Red Birds are 5-2 in their last seven games and have been getting it done on both sides of the ball. During that seven-game stretch, the Cardinals pitchers have allowed 2.5 runs per game while the offense has scored 3.1 runs per game, including two separate five-run performances. There really is no side of the ball that the Cardinals are really good at, but both offense and pitching work in tandem to make them successful.
The pitching staff has ranked about middle of the road so far with a team ERA of 4.06 (16th in MLB), but the Pirates will have to face the two leaders of that staff. Up first on Saturday is Ryan Flaherty, whose overall numbers don't look great, but he has turned it on as of late. After giving up six earned runs in his first outing, he has pitched to a 1.50 ERA over his last four starts spanning 24 innings of work. The Cardinals follow him go with Adam Wainwright, who has been a Pirate killer throughout his career. Wainwright had a similarly rough start to the season, and definitely isn't the same guy the Pirates have faced in the past. However, in his last four starts, he is pitching to a 2.42 ERA and pitched a complete game shutout against the Philadelphia Phillies his last time out. The Cardinals are a team that plays old-school baseball and the Pirates will have to use small ball and early runs to win games.
Different Guys Continue To Contribute
Last season, one of the biggest problems for the Pirates was that everyone seemingly was in a slump all season long. Aside from Colin Moran, no one consistently was able to contribute. However, this season has been a different story and it has benefitted the Pirate's win/loss record. It seems like every night a different guy is coming through to help the team. For example, in the Royals series, Todd Frazier was the big performer reaching base three times and getting the Pirates to within one with a two-RBI double that made it a 6-5 game. The night before, Wilmer Difo came up with the go-ahead run in scoring position and drove him in with a pinch-hit bloop single to left to give the Pirates a 2-1 win.
With more and more guys contributing to the offense on a nightly basis, it has helped the offense grow its batting average. After a slow start offensively, the Pirates have climbed to 17th in the league with a .230 team average. However, when runners are in scoring position, that average jumps to .246 and the Pirates rank 10th in all of baseball. Clutch hits are important for a team like the Pirates that doesn't have a lot of power. With this Cardinals pitching staff on the rise as of late, the Pirate hitters are going to have to find a way to come through and get runs on the board early. It will take a whole team effort to win their fourth series in their last five and clutch hitting throughout the lineup is the key.
Keep the Bullpen on Fire
With all of the success the team has had this season, the undoubted leader of the club has been the bullpen. The Pirates bullpen has the eighth-best ERA in all of baseball (3.43), has allowed the ninth fewest runs (36), and has the fourth-lowest WHIP (1.07). As a unit, they only have two losses this season and are the best after the eighth inning when they have allowed a league-leading 0.86 walks and hits allowed after the seventh inning. That is a credit to the back-end of the bullpen, led by closer Richard Rodriguez. Both Rodriguez and Kyle Crick have yet to be scored upon this season, and when the Pirates have a lead they have been able to close the door.
However, we also have to give credit to the middle relievers, more particularly Duane Underwood Jr. After coming over in a trade from the Cubs in March, Underwood has pitched to a 2.08 ERA over his first nine appearances. He has not been scored upon in his last 8.1 innings of work and aside from one outing where he gave up three earned runs in 3.2 innings of work, he has been excellent. Another guy who has quietly had a strong season is left-hander Sam Howard, who has not been scored upon in his last seven innings of work. Howard is one of those under-the-radar guys that broke out with the Pirates last season after pitching in Colorado the previous two years. Howard has pitched to a 1.80 ERA over his first 10 innings of work. If the Pirates can get an early lead, the bullpen will come in and look to stay hot shutting down the opponent.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (12-12) are back in action tonight when they take on the St. Louis Cardinals (13-12) in game one of a three-game series. JT Brubaker (2-1, 2.01) looks to bounce back from a tough-luck loss last time out when he takes on John Gant (1-2, 2.25) for the Cardinals. You can watch the game on AT&T Sportsnet or listen on 93.7 The Fan. There will be no live tweeting until May 5th, but be sure to check our Twitter and Facebook pages for final score updates after every game.
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