Preview: Pirates at Cardinals

[August 11, 2015]  The Pittsburgh Pirates experienced their fair share of heartbreak in the first four games against the St. Louis Cardinals this season, but spent most of the rest of the first half getting payback. The teams with the two best records in the National League will resume their rivalry on Tuesday when the visiting Pirates try to trim a five-game gap in the Central against first-place Cardinals in the opener of a three-game set.

St. Louis (71-40) swept Pittsburgh at home to begin May, registering three straight one-run extra-inning victories, and opened with a road victory against the Pirates the following weekend. Pittsburgh (65-44) rebounded by claiming five of the next six meetings to level the season series, including the final three – the last two of which were also decided in extra innings – before the All-Star break. The Cardinals’ pitching staff saw their 38-inning scoreless streak come to an end in Sunday’s 5-4 loss at Milwaukee, which also snapped St. Louis’ four-game winning streak. The Pirates took advantage of the Cardinals’ rare setback, however, inching closer to their division rival after completing a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.
 

TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, MLB Network, ROOT (Pittsburgh), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates LH Jeff Locke (6-6, 4.31 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Carlos Martinez (11-4, 2.57)

Locke continued his recent struggles in Wednesday’s 7-5 win over the Chicago Cubs, failing to factor into the decision after surrendering four runs – including a pair of homers – in 5 2/3 frames. The 27-year-old New Hampshire native has yielded at least three runs in each of his last four turns and failed to complete six innings in each of his previous three outings. Locke took the loss on July 9 after giving up four runs (one earned) in five innings against St. Louis, falling to 2-3 with a 3.55 ERA in seven career starts versus the Cardinals.
 

After going 11-4 with a 2.34 ERA through his first 20 appearances (18 starts), Martinez turned in his second mediocre start in a no-decision on Wednesday while allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits and three walks over five innings at Cincinnati. The 23-year-old Dominican allowed five runs and 10 hits at home versus Colorado on July 30 – an outing which concluded a month in which he went 2-1 with a 2.03 ERA. Martinez has split a pair of starts against the Pirates this season, including a 7 1/3-inning gem to get the win on July 9.

WALK-OFFS

1. Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen, who is hitting .429 with 13 RBIs and has scored 12 runs in his past 10 games, is batting .405 with runners in scoring position this season.

2. Since returning to the leadoff spot on July 30, Cardinals 3B Matt Carpenter is 15-for-40 with a NL-high seven home runs in 10 contests.

3. In 208 career games against St. Louis, Pittsburgh 3B Aramis Ramirez owns a .308 batting average with 37 home runs and 144 RBIs.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 3, Pirates 2

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