St. Louis Cardinals (52-47, second in the NL Central) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (50-49, third in the NL Central)
Pittsburgh; Monday, 6:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Andre Pallante (4-4, 4.21 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 41 strikeouts); Pirates: Mitch Keller (10-5, 3.46 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 105 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Pirates -132, Cardinals +111; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates host the St. Louis Cardinals to open a three-game series.
Pittsburgh is 50-49 overall and 24-25 at home. The Pirates have a 37-12 record in games when they record at least eight hits.
St. Louis is 26-25 on the road and 52-47 overall. The Cardinals have a 36-7 record in games when they out-hit their opponents.
The teams square off Monday for the seventh time this season. The Cardinals are up 4-2 in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bryan Reynolds has 20 doubles, three triples and 18 home runs for the Pirates. Oneil Cruz is 13-for-38 with four doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI over the past 10 games.
Alec Burleson leads the Cardinals with 18 home runs while slugging .500. Brendan Donovan is 13-for-40 with three doubles, a home run and five RBI over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 8-2, .259 batting average, 3.13 ERA, outscored opponents by 18 runs
Cardinals: 5-5, .276 batting average, 4.29 ERA, outscored opponents by eight runs
INJURIES: Pirates: Bailey Falter: 15-Day IL (arm), Daulton Jefferies: 15-Day IL (elbow), Jared Jones: 15-Day IL (lat), Hunter Stratton: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Ryan Borucki: 60-Day IL (tricep), Dauri Moreta: 60-Day IL (elbow), Endy Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Cardinals: Steven Matz: 60-Day IL (back), Keynan Middleton: 60-Day IL (forearm), Nick Robertson: 15-Day IL (elbow), Riley O'Brien: 60-Day IL (forearm), Tommy Edman: 60-Day IL (wrist), Drew Rom: 60-Day IL (biceps)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
