Pirates Vs. Cardinals, 18 August 2012

The Pirates look to make it three in a row in St. Louis today as Erik Bedard takes on Lance Lynn at 4:05. The Pirates beat the Cards 2-1 last night, scoring their runs on a wild pitch and a passed ball.

Your Arcane Stat of the Day: According to Elias, it has been more than 24 years since a team won a game in which it scored at least two runs, with all of its runs coming via wild pitch and/or passed ball. The last team to do it was the Giants, who did it against the Pirates on July 2, 1988, also winning 2-1. Both San Francisco runs scored on a wild pitch by Barry Jones in the eighth. Darnell Coles had the lone Pirates RBI with his fifth homer of the season.

Last night was also the first time the Bucs have won a game without an RBI since June 20, 2008. The Pirates beat the Blue Jays 1-0 in 12 innings in that one, with Tyler Yates throwing two scoreless to get the win. The only current Pirate to play in that game was Rod Barajas who went 1-for-4...for the Blue Jays.

The Pirates are 29-30 on the road this season and have won nine of their last 13. They are also 29-19 within the division. Since the NL Central was formed in 1994, the Bucs have never posted a winning record within the division.

After this weekend's games in St. Louis, the Pirates head to San Diego. Expect changes to the starting rotation to be announced, possibly as early as after today's game. The Pirates have yet to list any starters for the series. After James McDonald's solid effort last night I would at least expect Kevin Correia to be moved back to the pen.

Clint's card:

Starling Marte 7
Jordy Mercer 4
Andrew McCutchen 8
Garrett Jones 3
Travis Snider 7
Pedro Alvarez 5
Rod Barajas 2
Clint Barmes 6
Erik Bedard 1

The Cards' card:

Rafael Furcal 6
Matt Carpenter 9
Matt Holliday 7
Allen Craig 3
David Freese 5
Yadier Molina 2
Shane Robinson 8
Ryan Jackson 4
Lance Lynn 1