Series Preview: The Cards vs the Bucs

THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
Series Preview: Cardinals Welcome Pirates to Busch Stadium Looking to Build on Much-Needed Win
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

The St. Louis Cardinals open a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight at Busch Stadium, hoping Thursday’s 7-5 victory over Baltimore can provide something more substantial than temporary relief.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. CT. Left-hander Quinn Mathews will start for St. Louis against Pirates right-hander Jared Jones.

The Cardinals enter the weekend at 67-68 after snapping a five-game losing streak Thursday and avoiding a sweep by the Orioles. Pittsburgh comes to St. Louis at 65-70 after taking two of three from San Diego earlier this week. The Cardinals have controlled the season series, winning five of the first seven meetings.

Thursday’s victory was badly needed. Blaze Jordan hit a three-run homer, Ramón Urías added a two-run shot and Gordon Graceffo delivered three perfect innings in a spot start as St. Louis built an early lead and held on after Baltimore made things uncomfortable late. Riley O’Brien recorded his 34th save.

The win did not erase the previous five losses, but it at least stopped them from becoming six.

Jordan’s status will be worth watching throughout the weekend after he injured his ankle while making a strong defensive play at third base Thursday. He was helped from the field and is considered day to day. With Masyn Winn already on the injured list because of a thumb injury, the Cardinals can ill afford to lose another young position player who has become part of the everyday lineup.

Mathews enters tonight looking for a considerably better result than he produced in his last start. The rookie is 0-2 with a 6.43 ERA through three Major League starts and allowed seven runs on 10 hits over five innings against Philadelphia in his most recent appearance.

The numbers have not been pretty, but this is exactly why the Cardinals brought him back to the Major Leagues.

Mathews needs innings against Major League hitters. He needs to learn how to work through a lineup when his best stuff is not available, how to avoid the one inning that gets away from him and how to adjust when hitters stop chasing the pitches that dominated Triple-A competition.

Tonight will also be his first Major League start at Busch Stadium.

That alone makes the opener worth watching.

Pittsburgh counters with Jones, who is 2-5 with a 4.76 ERA and 77 strikeouts over 68⅔ innings. The 25-year-old still possesses the kind of swing-and-miss stuff that can make him difficult when he commands the strike zone, averaging more than 10 strikeouts per nine innings.

Control has been the issue.

Jones walked a career-high five batters while throwing 87 pitches over four innings against the Dodgers in his most recent start. The Cardinals should make him work rather than helping him escape innings with early-count outs.

St. Louis has been a better offensive club than Pittsburgh recently, although that has not consistently translated into victories. The Cardinals are batting .252 over their last 10 games and averaging nine hits per game, while the Pirates have hit just .201 during that same stretch.

Alec Burleson remains the Cardinals’ most reliable run producer, entering the series batting .292 with 21 home runs and 99 RBI. Jordan Walker has also been productive recently, leading the club with three home runs and nine RBI over the last 10 games.

The Cardinals need those two producing, but they also need the younger hitters around them to continue developing.

Joshua Báez is seeing the adjustments that were always coming after his historic three-home-run Major League debut. Pitchers are giving him fewer mistakes and forcing him to prove he will control the strike zone.

Nathan Church continues to receive regular playing time and has hit well recently. Jordan, if healthy enough to play, has provided another right-handed bat with legitimate power.

This is what the final month should look like.

Play the young players.

Let them experience success and failure.

Find out which ones belong in the next Cardinals lineup.

But development cannot become an excuse for careless baseball.

The Cardinals are still close enough to the postseason race to make the remaining games meaningful, although they begin the weekend 5½ games out of the final National League Wild Card position. Their recent five-game losing streak made an already difficult path considerably harder.

The best way to keep whatever postseason hopes remain alive is not complicated.

Beat teams below you in the standings.

Pittsburgh qualifies.

The Pirates remain dangerous despite their record. Oneil Cruz can change a game with one swing or one trip around the bases, and he showed that Tuesday in San Diego when his ninth-inning home run produced the only run in a 1-0 Pirates victory.

Pittsburgh’s pitching may present the greater challenge this weekend.

The Pirates have posted a 3.09 ERA over their last 10 games and took two of three from the Padres largely because their staff kept games close. Even with the offense struggling, Pittsburgh has shown it can win low-scoring games when the pitching gives it an opportunity.

Saturday’s game begins at 1:15 p.m. CT, with Kyle Leahy scheduled to start for St. Louis. Pittsburgh had not announced its starter as of Friday morning.

Leahy enters at 10-4 with a 3.13 ERA and has become one of the best developments of the Cardinals season. What began as another attempt to use his flexibility has turned into a legitimate rotation job.

He has earned it.

Leahy attacks hitters, changes speeds and generally gives the Cardinals a chance to win without requiring the bullpen to cover half the game. With Andre Pallante and Hunter Dobbins currently on the injured list, his reliability has become even more important.

Sunday’s finale matches Liberatore against Ashcraft at 1:15 p.m.

Ashcraft enters 13-5 with a 3.59 ERA and 161 strikeouts, giving the Cardinals another difficult assignment. Liberatore is 5-12 with a 5.44 ERA and continues searching for the consistency that has escaped him throughout much of the season.

That matchup makes Friday and Saturday especially important.

The Cardinals do not want to enter Sunday needing a victory to avoid losing another home series.

St. Louis has already won five of seven against Pittsburgh this season. Taking two of three this weekend would finish August with some momentum before the schedule becomes considerably more difficult with a trip to Los Angeles beginning Tuesday.

The Cardinals are no longer in a position where one win can create another round of postseason optimism.

They need stretches of winning baseball.

Thursday stopped the losing streak.

Tonight begins the opportunity to start something better.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.

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Photo Credit: Quin Mathews, St. Louis Cardinals | MLB