Pirates at Cardinals
St. Louis has a couple pitchers capable of becoming the ace of its starting rotation with Adam Wainwright out for the season, and one will be on display when the first-place Cardinals host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday in the opener of a three-game series. Lance Lynn said there was no extra pressure after Wainwright went down with an Achilles injury last week and told reporters "we've just got to be ourselves."
St. Louis looks to continue its mastery of Pittsburgh at Busch Stadium as the Cardinals won eight of 10 last season and are 13-3 in the last 16 meetings at home. St. Louis kicked off its 11-game homestand by taking three of four from Philadelphia, including a 9-3 victory Thursday which gives it 25 runs during a three-game winning streak. While St. Louis has scored eight runs in Lynn's first four starts, the Pirates have totaled only six in A.J. Burnett's four turns, wasting his sub-2.00 ERA. The Pirates are 4-2 on their nine-game road trip and are coming off an 8-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH A.J. Burnett (0-1, 1.80 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Lance Lynn (1-2, 3.63)
Burnett earned a no-decision after allowing one run in seven innings of a 2-1 victory at Arizona on Saturday - his third straight quality start while allowing one run in each turn. "It's different now than it was a couple of years ago with velocity and stuff," the 38-year-old Arkansas native told reporters. "I just pitch and not get stubborn thinking I can sneak some balls by the hitters. ..." Burnett is 9-6 with a 3.87 ERA in 18 starts against St. Louis - including a seven-hitter in a 5-1 victory last season, but has given up a combined five home runs in 29 at-bats to Cardinals newcomers Jason Heyward and Mark Reynolds.
Lynn yielded six runs - the most he's allowed in his last 22 starts, playoffs included - and 10 hits in five innings of a 6-3 loss at Milwaukee on Sunday. The 27-year-old Indiana native permitted one earned run in each of his first three starts and recorded 26 strikeouts against seven walks this season. Lynn is 5-3 with a 4.71 ERA in 15 appearances (13 starts) against Pittsburgh while having little trouble with Andrew McCutchen (5-for-35, 13 strikeouts).
WALK-OFFS
1. St. Louis 1B Matt Adams (.304, three home runs, 14 RBIs) recorded four extra-base hits - HR, three doubles - in his last three games after recording three in his first 17 contests. "It seems like everything is starting to really come around on the offensive side, not just for me but the whole offense itself," Adams told reporters. "Things are really starting to click now."
2. McCutchen recorded his 1,000th career hit Wednesday, but the notoriously slow starter had a .194 batting average in April.
3. Cardinals 3B Matt Carpenter has scored 21 runs in 21 games this season, including six in the last three contests since being dropped from the lead-off spot to No. 2.