Pirates at Cardinals
Matt Adams is on a roll over the last four games and the Pittsburgh Pirates are his latest victims. Adams and the St. Louis Cardinals will go for their fifth straight win when they host the Pirates in the second of a three-game set on Saturday.
The Cardinals’ burly first baseman slapped a walk-off single in the 10th inning on Friday to give the Cardinals a 2-1 win in the series opener and is 9-for-18 with seven RBIs in the last four contests. Joining Adams on a hot streak is leadoff hitter Jon Jay, who has multiple hits in each of the last two games to set the table. Pittsburgh kept that powerful offense off the board until the seventh inning on Friday before falling for the third time in four games. The Pirates began their road trip with a sweep of Arizona but are falling off against their National League Central rivals and have managed two or fewer runs in each of those three setbacks.
TV: 2:15 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates LH Francisco Liriano (1-1, 2.22 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH John Lackey (1-1, 4.21)
Liriano struggled with his control by issuing six walks on Sunday but managed to hold Arizona scoreless while striking out seven over 6 1/3 innings. The Dominican Republic native owns 30 strikeouts in 24 1/3 total innings this season while walking 12. Liriano is 4-1 with a 1.98 ERA in eight career starts against St. Louis.
Lackey suffered his first loss on Monday while surrendering three runs and nine hits over seven innings against Philadelphia. The veteran matched his season low with one strikeout against the Phillies but did not yield a home run for the third straight start. Lackey faced Pittsburgh once after moving to the Cardinals last season and allowed one run in seven innings to earn a win.
WALK-OFFS
1. Pirates RHP Charlie Morton (shoulder surgery) is scheduled to throw a simulated game on Saturday.
2. St. Louis 3B Matt Carpenter has recorded multiple hits in seven of his last nine games.
3. Pittsburgh 3B Josh Harrison is 0-for-11 over his last three games to drop his average to .202.