Series Preview: Cardinals at Pirates

The Cardinals aren’t quite dead yet, sitting five games back in the National League Central and 1 1/2 back in the Wild Card, but with the Brewers in their way for both. They got swept by the Cubs in Chicago last weekend, but bounced back with a three-game sweep in Cincinnati this week and are 13-6 in September, including a three-game sweep of the Pirates in St. Louis earlier this month.

The Pirates (69-84) snapped a seven-game losing streak on Wednesday. They’ve merely lost 12 of their last 14.

Season Series: 10-6 Cardinals

At St. Louis:

April 17: Cardinals 2, Pirates 1

April 18: Cardinals 2, Pirates 1

April 19: Cardinals 2, Pirates 1

At St. Louis:

June 23: Pirates 4, Cardinals 3

June 24: Pirates 7, Cardinals 3

June 25: Cardinals 8, Pirates 4

At Pittsburgh

July 14: Pirates 5, Cardinals 2

July 15: Cardinals 4, Pirates 0

July 16: Pirates 4, Cardinals 3

At Pittsburgh

August 17: Cardinals 11, Pirates 7

August 18: Cardinals 11, Pirates 10

August 19: Pirates 6, Cardinals 4

MLB Little League Classic at Williamsport

August 20: Pirates 6, Cardinals 3

At St. Louis

September 8: Cardinals 4, Pirates 1

September 9: Cardinals 4, Pirates 3

September 10: Cardinals 7, Pirates 0

Schedule

Friday, 7:05 p.m. - Michael Wacha (12-8, 4.02 ERA) vs. Ivan Nova (11-14, 4.20), TV: AT&T SportsNet

Saturday, 7:05 p.m. - Lance Lynn (11-7, 3.09) vs. Gerrit Cole (11-11, 4.13), TV: AT&T SportsNet

Sunday, 1:35 p.m. - TBD vs. Jameson Taillon (7-7, 4.73), TV: AT&T SportsNet

Cardinals

80-72 (84-68, 4.78 RS/G, 4.25 RA/G)

The Two Things You Need to Know About the Cardinals

• Tommy Pham good.
• Mike Matheny bad.