Pirates at Cardinals
David Freese has flustered his former club during the first three contests of the four-game set to help the Pittsburgh Pirates move into second place in the National League Central. The 33-year-old Freese looks to continue his torrid ways on Thursday afternoon as the Pirates attempt to extend their season-high winning streak to eight games in the finale of their set against the host St. Louis Cardinals.
Signed to a one-year, $3 million deal in March, Freese showed his worth yet again with a home run to increase his hitting streak to eight games in Wednesday's 7-5 triumph. The veteran is 13-for-37 in 11 career contests versus the Cardinals and 2-for-3 in a small sample size versus Thursday starter Adam Wainwright. While the hot streak has Pittsburgh 8 1/2 in back of the first-place Chicago Cubs, St. Louis fell one-half game behind the second-place Pirates after its fifth loss in eight outings and 26th in 44 contests at Busch Stadium this season. To add injury to insult, All-Star second baseman Matt Carpenter joined a growing list of Cardinals on the sideline after exiting Wednesday's tilt with an oblique ailment.
TV: 1:45 p.m. ET, MLB Network, ROOT (Pittsburgh), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Tyler Glasnow (major-league debut) vs. Cardinals RH Adam Wainwright (7-5, 4.70 ERA)
Glasnow, who is Pittsburgh's top-ranked prospect, was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday after posting a 7-2 record with a 1.78 ERA and 113 strikeouts over 96 innings in 17 starts. The 22-year-old was summoned due in large part to left-hander Jonathon Niese returning to Pittsburgh to have his sore left knee examined. Glasnow, who has limited the opposition to a .176 batting average this season, will become the 11th starting pitcher used by the Pirates in 2016.
Wainwright rebounded from a brutal effort by allowing seven singles in as many innings of a 3-0 win over Milwaukee on Saturday. The 34-year-old owns an 11-7 career mark versus Pittsburgh but is 0-1 in two starts against the club this season despite permitting three runs in each outing. Wainwright has overcome a horrific performance at home versus Cincinnati on April 16 to record far better showings at Busch Stadium, posting a 3-2 record and 2.15 ERA in his last seven trips to the mound.
WALK-OFFS
1. St. Louis SS Aledmys Diaz is 21-for-44 with four homers, 12 RBIs and 10 runs scored in his last 14 games.
2. Pittsburgh CF Andrew McCutchen has scored six runs in his last five contests.
3. Pirates 2B Josh Harrison has recorded seven RBIs and three runs scored during his seven-game hitting streak.