Game Thread: Round Two at Busch Stadium

The Pittsburgh Pirates stay in downtown St. Louis on Saturday night for another tilt with the divisional foe Cardinals. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 pm Eastern. The Cards broke their losing streak last night, winning by a score of 6-2, so the Bucs will try to hault their now six-game losing skid tonight. The Bucs will send righty starter Joe Musgrove (8-10, 4.69) to the mound to face off against veteran RHP Adam Wainwright (7-8, 4.50).

The typically reliable Musgrove has been faltering for the Bucs lately, as he's given up 15 earned runs in his last three outings (14.1 innings) including a disastrous outing last time out in which he let up eight earned in 3.1 innings of work at the New York Mets. He struggled in his previous two outings against the Cardinals as well, so he'll be looking to clear the slate and finish the season strong. The Bucs are looking for Musgrove to be a staple in their rotation next season, so any signs of efficiency and weak contact will be greatly welcomed.

Wainwright will take the ball for the Cards and look to reach the six inning mark for the first time since July 14th. While his pitch count has been high due to a plethora of walks lately, the veteran has managed to limit damage with runners on base, allowing more than three runs just twice since the start of June. The Bucs will look to collect hits at the right time on Saturday and turn runners into runs against Wainwright. They pushed four runs across in 5.0 innings last time they met.

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Pirates

1 L Adam Frazier 2B

2 S Bryan Reynolds RF

3 R Starling Marte CF

4 S Josh Bell 1B

5 R Jose Osuna LF

6 L Colin Moran 3B

7 R Kevin Newman SS

8 R Jacob Stallings C

9 R Joe Musgrove RHP

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Cardinals

1 S Dexter Fowler CF

2 S Tommy Edman RF

3 R Paul Goldschmidt 1B

4 R Marcell Ozuna LF

5 R Paul DeJong SS

6 L Matt Carpenter 3B

7 L Kolten Wong 2B

8 S Matt Wieters C

9 R Adam Wainwright RHP