Pirates look to end 3-game skid against Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals (53-47, second in the NL Central) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (46-54, fifth in the NL Central)
Pittsburgh; Wednesday, 7 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Adam Wainwright (6-7, 4.50 ERA) Pirates: Jordan Lyles (5-6, 4.91 ERA)
LINE: Pirates favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 9 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Pittsburgh enters the matchup as losers of their last three games.
The Pirates are 19-25 against the rest of their division. Pittsburgh leads the National League in hitting with a .268 batting average, Bryan Reynolds leads the team with an average of .332.
The Cardinals have gone 22-19 against division opponents. The St. Louis pitching staff owns a combined team ERA of 4.08, Jack Flaherty leads the staff with a mark of 4.24. The Cardinals won the last meeting 4-3. Dakota Hudson secured his 10th victory and Jose Martinez went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI for St. Louis. Chris Archer took his seventh loss for Pittsburgh.
TOP PERFORMERS: Josh Bell leads the Pirates with 27 home runs and has 86 RBIs. Kevin Newman has 13 hits and is batting .325 over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.
Paul Goldschmidt leads the Cardinals with 20 home runs and has 50 RBIs. Tyler O'Neill has 12 hits and is batting .286 over the last 10 games for St. Louis.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 2-8, .255 batting average, 4.85 ERA, outscored by 21 runs
Cardinals: 8-2, .240 batting average, 3.70 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs
Pirates Injuries: Jameson Taillon: 60-day IL (elbow), Edgar Santana: 60-day IL (elbow), Chad Kuhl: 60-day IL (elbow), Keone Kela: 60-day IL (shoulder), Rookie Davis: 10-day IL (finger/forearm), Nick Burdi: 60-day IL (biceps), Steven Brault: 10-day IL (shoulder), Gregory Polanco: 10-day IL (shoulder), Lonnie Chisenhall: 60-day IL (finger), Erik Gonzalez: 60-day IL (collarbone), Francisco Cervelli: 10-day IL (concussion).
Cardinals Injuries: Jordan Hicks: 60-day IL (elbow), Brett Cecil: 60-day IL (wrist/forearm), Marcell Ozuna: 10-day IL (hand), Jedd Gyorko: 10-day IL (back), Matt Carpenter: 10-day IL (foot), Yadier Molina: 10-day IL (thumb).
