Cardinals at Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright is riding a two-month streak without a loss and hopes to carry the momentum from that run into the opener of a four-game series at the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night. The National League Central rivals are each mired in losing streaks as they meet in the their fourth series of the year.
The Pirates finally got their offense untracked but squandered an early four-run lead in Wednesday's 7-6 defeat at Milwaukee to extend their skid to four games. Josh Bell is 9-for-19 with five extra-base hits and six RBIs over his last six contests for Pittsburgh, which is 5 1/2 games behind division-leading Chicago. The Cardinals have dropped three in a row following an eight-game winning streak, absorbing a crushing 5-4 defeat in Boston on Wednesday by also blowing a four-run lead and giving up three in the bottom of the ninth. Tommy Pham has hit safely in eight straight contests for St. Louis, which fell into third place in the division and trails the Cubs by 2 1/2 games.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), AT&T SportNet-Pittsburgh
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Adam Wainwright (12-5, 4.87 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Jameson Taillon (7-5, 4.50)
Wainwright made his second start since a stint on the disabled list with an ailing back and earned the win my limiting Atlanta to one run over five innings to improve to 5-0 over his last eight turns. He began his unbeaten run against Pittsburgh on June 23, allowing two runs and two hits over seven innings in a no-decision. Second baseman Josh Harrison is 9-for-27 with a pair of doubles off Wainwright.
Taillon has bounced back from a pair of ugly outings with two straight solid starts, picking up the win with six innings of two-run ball at Toronto, after permitting two runs over 6 1/3 innings versus San Diego on Aug. 6. He is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in three career starts versus the Cardinals, but held them to two runs over six innings at St. Louis on June 23. Pham is 4-for-6 against Taillon.
WALK-OFFS
1. St. Louis has won six of its last nine games at PNC Park.
2. Pirates C Francisco Cervelli (hand/wrist), who sat out the Milwaukee series, is expected back in the lineup Thursday.
3. Cardinals 2B Kolten Wong has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games.