In the series some are calling “the main event”, the Pittsburgh Pirates will begin a four-game series tonight against the St. Louis Cardinals. This is a match-up between the lone two teams to win 50 games this season.
The Pirates are coming off their first sweep of the San Diego Padres in Pittsburgh since 1994 and won each of the three games in come from behind fashion. The Cardinals meanwhile were down to their last strike in last night’s game before Jhonny Peralta hit a two-run home run that allowed them to defeat the Chicago Cubs.
With the victory against the Cubs, the Cardinals have secured a lead in the National League Central heading into the All-Star Break leading by 4.5 games.
Tonight Jeff Locke will face Carlos Martinez in the opening pitching match-up of the series.
Locke tied a career high with eight innings thrown. He allowed no runs against the Cleveland Indians and retired 19 consecutive batters to end his outing. Locke currently owns a 1.55 ERA in his last five starts. Against the Cardinals, Locke has a 2-2 record with a 3.82 ERA in six career starts. He faced the Cardinals earlier this year and earned a no-decision allowing three runs in 6.2 innings of work.
Martinez has had his struggles against the Pirates in the past posting an 0-2 record with a 6.23 ERA in 12 appearances [three starts]. A win for Martinez would allow the Cardinals to be the lone major league team to have multiple starters with double digit wins as Michael Wacha has 10 victories on the season. The Cardinals have a 13-3 record in games started by Martinez. In his last start, Martinez earned a no-decision against the San Diego Padres allowing one run on eight hits in 6.2 innings. He lost his last start to the Pirates allowing seven runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings pitched. It was his first loss of the season.
Seventh inning stretch: It is no secret that these two teams have developed a rivalry, however Pirates manager Clint Hurdle tried to tone down the nature of media questions about the magnitude of the series.
“It doesn’t make any sense to bang a drum any louder, that’s not the way we do it here,” Hurdle said. “It’s kind of fun happening right now for me right before the break. I just love playing them because they’re the team that we need to find a way to answer to.”
Questions for the Cardinals series first started for Hurdle on Wednesday hours before the Pirates were to play the Padres and lasted for the better part of 10 minutes.
The Cardinals took all three games in extra innings earlier this season and Hurdle admitted to the media that his team was not in a good position at the time.
Now however he acknowledges a change in his team.
“We’re being hunted down,” said Hurdle. “I think that was one of the dynamics of this club coming into this season. We had to revisit our edge and our nastiness all across the board. Teams come in to beat us, teams come in to get something done. It’s a different dynamic than it has in the past.”
Gerrit Cole who will pitch Friday against the Cardinals credited the visitors for winning 50 of their first 74 games despite being affected by injury, however he also cited that it does not change the team’s approach.
“They’re a great team whether they’re banged up or not,” Cole said. “You can’t give them enough respect but at the same time when they come in here we expect to beat them and we’re not afraid.”
Bottom of the ninth: According to MLB.com reporter Jenifer Langosch, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak stated that he was optimistic that Kolten Wong will play in this series. Wong made a diving grab in a game earlier this week against the Cubs and was removed following the snag. Matt Holiday’s status however is up in the air as the Cardinals do not want to rush him into action before the All-Star Break. Fans voted Holiday in as a starter for this year’s All-Star Game, however if he is not activated this week, then he will not be eligible to play.
Cole will be available to pitch in this year’s All-Star Game however when asked about the home run friendly Great American Ballpark, he offered the following:
“It’s a great place for the Home Run Derby,” said Cole.
The Pirates are 7-0-1 in the past eight series vs the Cardinals at PNC Park…The Pirates are 37-7 when scoring four or more runs in a game… Since the beginning of 2012, Pedro Alvarez has 14 home runs and 44 RBI vs STL… Andrew McCutchen is tied for the NL lead with 24 doubles. Since 2010 he has 198 doubles.
Photo courtesy: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
