On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Pirates conclude a four-game series on the road against National League Central rivals the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Pirates have split the first two games of the series losing the first on Thursday 10-8, but rebounding to win Friday 4-0. Jameson Taillon threw a three-hitter across eight innings for the Pirates keeping the Cardinals off the scoreboard. The Pirates allowed 10 runs in the first game, but kept the Cardinals from scoring on Friday thanks to Taillon. Miles Mikolas suffered his first loss of the season and is now 6-1. He allowed just two runs with one being earned over six innings. Yadier Molina could return for St. Louis next Tuesday after completing a rehab assignment as his pelvic injury has healed.
Corey Dickerson leads the Pirates with a .314 batting average and team high 64 hits. Gregory Polanco leads in home runs with eight and Francisco Cervelli in RBIs with 34. Pittsburgh has a team batting average of .258 while opposing hitters are averaging .254 at the plate against Pirates pitching. On Sunday, the Pirates will send Nick Kingham to the mound. The right-hander this season is 2-1 with an ERA of 3.75, 25 Ks and 4 BBs.
Jose Martinez leads the Cardinals with a .293 batting average and team highs in RBIs with 31 and hits with 58. Tommy Pham leads the team in home runs with nine. St. Louis has a team batting average of .241 while opposing hitters are averaging the same .241 at the plate against Cardinals pitching. On Sunday, the Cardinals will send Michael Wacha to the mound. The right-hander this season is 6-1 with an ERA of 2.71, 53 Ks and 25 BBs.
