Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals Round 3: What to Expect
After falling in 10 straight games last week, the Pittsburgh Pirates have bounced back nicely against the American League Central. They went 3-2 on their latest homestand, taking two of three from the Cleveland Indians and splitting a two-game series with the Chicago White Sox. Overall, they have won three of their last five games, and have gotten their record to 26-46. However, they are now heading back to National League Central play and will face divisional opponents in eight of their final 18 games before the all-star break, with all eight of those games being on the road. It all starts with a seven-game, two City Road trip as the Pirates are in a sprint to the July 12th - 15th All-Star Break.
However, it won't be an easy start for the Pirates as they face a team that so far this season they are 0-5 against in two series. The Pirates go on the road to take on the division rival St. Louis Cardinals in their second trip to Busch Stadium this year. The Pirates are hoping they can ride their wave of momentum into this four-game weekend series while keeping the Cardinals on the down-low. It isn't going to be an easy task, as the Pirates have to face two of the Cardinal's top pitchers right from the get-go, but they have had success against two top American League teams as of late. Today, we look at what to expect as the Pirates get back to divisional play against the St. Louis Cardinals on the road.
What Happened Last Time
The last time the Pirates and Cardinals faced off, it was in a short two-game series at Busch Stadium. The Pirates dropped both games in the series, and we're outscored by the Cardinals 13-7 in the two games. The first game saw the Cardinals get out in front early, scoring all five of their runs in the first three innings of the game, to take a 5-0 lead. However, John Gant held the Pirates offense at-bat the rest of the day and, aside from two runs in the seventh, the Pirates couldn't get anything going and fell 5-2. In-game two, the Cardinals once again went on an early onslaught, scoring six runs in two innings. The Pirates would outscore the Cardinals 5-2 over the final seven innings of the game, but the damage was already done as the Pirates fell 8-5.
While the Cardinals were on fire entering that series, this time around it is the exact opposite. The red birds have dropped five of their last six games and were just swept by the Detroit Tigers in a two-game series. As a team, the Cardinals have scored just four runs in their last three games and, besides a nine-run outburst on June 20th, really have struggled to get the offense going. Over the last seven games, the Cardinals have had one of the worst offenses in all of baseball, hitting just .186 as a team. Their pitching hasn't been much better over that same stretch with a team ERA of 5.00. However, the one Cardinal who is hitting well is Pirate killer Paul Goldschmidt, who is hitting .333 with a home run and six RBI. In 19 at-bats against Pittsburgh this season, Goldschmidt is hitting .316 with three RBI, and will be a tough bat to slow down in this lineup.
Score Runs Early
One of the keys for Pittsburgh in this four-game series is going to be getting on the board first. As we saw last time out, the Cardinals scored 10 of their 13 runs in the first or second inning in the last series and put the Pirates down from the start. If Pittsburgh wants to be successful over these next four games with St. Louis, they are going to have to put together a similar formula. When Pirates pitchers are pitching with a lead, you usually see much better results. When pitching with a lead this season, the Pirates have a team ERA of 4.02. That is a whole point better than their 5.08 ERA when the team is pitching from behind. With a young staff, scoring early goes a long way to keep confidence high, and allow this rotation to go out and pitch the way they know how to.
Another part of this is not being intimidated by the names they are facing. In the first two games of the series, the Pirates go up against Carlos Martinez and Adam Wainwright, two pitchers who have plagued the Pirates in their careers. However, neither guy has been the same as their careers indicate in 2021. Martinez enters his start with a 6.62 ERA and Wainwright sits at 3.74. Both are higher than normal for their careers, and with the top four for the Pirates clicking right now, it is a chance for some early offense. If Adam Frazier and Ke'Bryan Hayes can set the table, there will be plenty of early opportunities for guys like Bryan Reynolds, Colin Moran, and Jacob Stallings to get some early RBI opportunities and get the offense started with a bang.
Do The Little Things Right
If there is one thing you can guarantee when you play the St. Louis Cardinals, it is that they are going to do all the little things right. They are a fundamentally sound team through and through and it shows with their play on the field. However, this season, they have taken a step back on the defensive side of things, being tied for the ninth most errors committed this season with 46. In comparison, the Pirates are tied for 20th in errors committed with seven fewer errors under their belt. In order to beat a team like the Cardinals, you have to do all the little things right, and that's what the Pirates are aiming to do.
Over the last week, we have highlighted some great defensive performances as of late from guys like Kevin Newman, Jacob Stallings, and Michael Perez. Newman has now upped his errorless streak at shortstop to 61 consecutive games and Stallings and Perez are the only catching duo in baseball to still not allow a passed ball in 72 games played. It will be defensive efforts like these that the Pirates rely on all series to get the advantage. The Pirates pitching staff just has to pitch their game and trust the defense behind them to make plays. The Pirates defense as a whole is much improved this season over years past, with a .985 team fielding percentage tied for eighth-best in the league. It is the little things that make a big difference and the Pirates will try to use that to their advantage.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (26-46) start their four-game weekend set with the rival St. Louis Cardinals (36-38) tonight at 8:15 pm. Chad Kuhl (1-4, 5.66) takes the hill for the Pirates coming off his first win of the season, against Carlos Martinez (3-8, 6.62) for the Cardinals. You can watch the game live on AT&T Sportsnet, listen on 93.7 The Fan, or follow along with us on Twitter by following @Buccos_Cove.
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