St. Louis hosts Pittsburgh, aims to build on Flaherty's strong showing
Pittsburgh Pirates (48-66, fifth in the NL Central) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (58-55, third in the NL Central)
; Friday, 8:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Chris Archer (3-8, 5.35 ERA) Cardinals: Dakota Hudson (10-6, 3.99 ERA)
St. Louis heads into the matchup fresh off a strong showing by Jack Flaherty. Flaherty went seven innings, surrendering The Cardinals are 26-20 against NL Central teams. The St. Louis pitching staff owns a team ERA of 4.09, Jack Flaherty leads the staff with a mark of 3.72.
The Pirates have gone 20-32 against division opponents. The Pittsburgh offense has compiled a .265 batting average as a team this season, good for sixth in the majors. Bryan Reynolds leads the team with a mark of .338.
TOP PERFORMERS: Marcell Ozuna leads the Cardinals with 63 RBIs and is batting .252. Kolten Wong has 10 hits and is batting .333 over the last 10 games for St. Louis.
Josh Bell leads the Pirates with 64 extra base hits and is slugging .573. Jose Osuna is 12-for-27 with five doubles, three home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 2-8, .225 batting average, 4.10 ERA, outscored by 21 runs
Pirates: 2-8, .244 batting average, 5.90 ERA, outscored by 19 runs
Cardinals Injuries: Jordan Hicks: (elbow), Tony Cingrani: (shoulder), Brett Cecil: (wrist/forearm), Tyler O'Neill: (wrist), Yadier Molina: (thumb).
Pirates Injuries: Jameson Taillon: (elbow), Edgar Santana: (elbow), Chad Kuhl: (elbow), Clay Holmes: (triceps), Rookie Davis: (finger/forearm), Nick Burdi: (biceps), Gregory Polanco: (shoulder), Lonnie Chisenhall: (finger), Francisco Cervelli: (concussion).
