Pirates at Cardinals
The Pittsburgh Pirates have to be brimming with confidence as they begin a three-game road series against the Central Division-rival St. Louis Cardinals on Monday. The Pirates, who had been on a four-game slide, posted 18 runs while sweeping a three-game set against the Cubs in Chicago over the weekend as former National League MVP Andrew McCutchen continues heat up offensively.
McCutchen carries a seven-game hitting streak into the series against St. Louis after recording two home runs and six RBIs over his last four contests while Adam Frazier is 6-for-10 with a blast and four RBIs in his last three games. “We came in struggling, so we needed to turn it around,” Frazier told MLB.com. “It was big for us to get these three wins. It doesn’t matter when they are in the season.” The Cardinals were on the wrong end of a three-game sweep after suffering a 9-3 loss against the host New York Yankees on Sunday and have dropped six of their last seven contests en route to the worst record in the NL (3-9). Stephen Piscotty is the only St. Louis regular hitting above .250 after going 7-for-22 with a pair of homers and eight RBIs over his last six games.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN, ROOT (Pittsburgh), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Ivan Nova (1-1, 2.25 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Lance Lynn (0-1, 5.23)
Nova has produced a pair of quality starts to open the season, but he allowed three earned runs and eight hits over six innings to suffer the loss against Cincinnati on Wednesday. The 30-year-old Dominican, who is 6-3 since being acquired from the New York Yankees last year, has recorded 12 strikeouts and no walks in 12 frames. Dexter Fowler is 2-for-3 versus Nova, who will be facing the Cardinals for the first time in his career.
Lynn gave up six runs - four earned - on five hits and four walks over five innings in a loss at Washington on Tuesday in which he served up three homers. The 29-year-old Ole Miss product was solid in his season debut as he limited the Cubs to two runs over 5 1/3 frames after missing 2016 due to Tommy John surgery. Josh Harrison is 8-for-22 with a homer against Lynn, who is 5-5 with a 4.74 ERA versus the Pirates.
WALK-OFFS
1. Fowler, the Cardinals’ leadoff hitter, went 1-for-14 in the series against the Yankees to drop his season average to .143.
2. Pittsburgh OF Gregory Polanco, who is batting .278 in nine games, could return after missing the last two contests with a groin injury.
3. St. Louis 3B Matt Carpenter batted .304 with four homers and 14 RBIs against Pittsburgh in 2016.