The Pittsburgh Pirates (28-27) host the St. Louis Cardinals (25-32) at PNC Park on Friday to open a three-game series. The Cardinals are playing their first of six games on the road.
They split their last series against the Royals, taking the finale 2-1 on Tuesday at Busch Stadium. Nolan Arenado was 1 for 3 with a double and one RBI.
The Pirates are playing the first of nine games at home after finishing up a six-game road trip (3-3). They won two of three against the Giants in their last series, taking the finale 9-4 on Wednesday at Oracle Park.
Connor Joe went 3 for 4 with a double, two runs, and one RBI. Andrew McCutchen also went 3 for 4 with a double, two runs, and one RBI.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The NL Central rivals have split their games this season 2-2, as the Cardinals evened the season series with a 5-4 victory in 10 innings in their most recent meeting on April 16 at Busch Stadium. Reliever Drew VerHagen was credited with the win after throwing one inning.
ON THE MOUND
Jack Flaherty (3-4, 5.29 ERA) is slated to start for St. Louis. The right-hander allowed one run over seven innings in his last start, a 2-1 road win over the Guardians on Saturday. He scattered seven hits while striking out four and walking one in the no-decision.
Flaherty is making his first appearance against the Pirates this season. Over four appearances (three starts) against the Pirates in 2022, Flaherty was 1-0 with a 4.20 ERA over 15 innings. He had 10 strikeouts and eight walks.
RHP Roansy Contreras (3-4, 4.33 ERA) will toe the rubber for Pittsburgh. He has made one prior start against the Cardinals this season, giving up two runs over six innings in a 6-3 road win on April 15.
He gave up six hits and walked three, while striking out six in the no-decision. In his last appearance on Sunday, Contreras came on in relief on the road against the Mariners. He threw two scoreless innings and gave up one hit, striking out one, in the 6-3 defeat.
AT THE PLATE
The St. Louis offense is averaging 4.8 runs per game for the season, with a slash line of .253/.327/.426. Nolan Gorman leads the team in OPS at .915. The second baseman is slashing .272/.360/.555 with 13 home runs, 41 RBIs, and 22 runs over 51 games.
Over the last five games, however, St. Louis has averaged only 2.0 runs a game while slashing worse across the board (.162/.237/.279). Against right-handed pitchers like Contreras this season, the Cards have a .742 OPS. Paul Goldschmidt is the team’s most productive hitter against right-handers with a .928 OPS in 159 at-bats.
Pittsburgh is slashing .245/.322/.406 for the season and averaging 4.4 runs per game. Four Pirates hitters have an OPS of .800 or better, led by Jack Suwinski (.859).
The right fielder has 11 home runs, 29 RBIs, and 18 runs scored with a slash line of .240/.352/.507. The Bucs have a .716 OPS against right-handers in 2023. With a .971 OPS over 112 at-bats, Suwinski also has been their best hitter against right-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
St. Louis is 13-16 away from Busch Stadium in 2023, scoring 4.1 runs per game while allowing 4.3 runs. Pittsburgh has gone 12-13 at their home park this season, averaging 3.9 runs per game while surrendering 4.8. In the last 10 meetings at PNC Park, St. Louis is 6-4 with an average scoreline of 5.7-4.6.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Cardinals are fourth in the NL Central, five games behind the division-leading Brewers. The Pirates are second in the NL Central, one games behind the Brewers.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
St.Louis Cardinals (-140)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
