Francisco Liriano (4-5, 5.25 ERA) and Carlos Martinez (6-5, 3.76 ERA) start in the second of a three-game series between the Pittsburgh Pirates (32-29) and the St. Louis Cardinals (33-28) at PNC Park. The Cardinals won the last game 9-3, and St. Louis leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 7:15 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jun. 11 and can be seen on FOX.
Liriano pitched 3.1 innings in his most recent start, surrendering seven runs (one unearned), striking out two and walking four in a 9-2 defeat to the Angels. Starling Marte (.322, 33 Rs, 5 HRs, 22 RBIs, 19 SBs) continued his strong play yesterday, going 2 for 5 with two runs and one stolen base. Martinez went 6.0 innings, surrendering three runs, striking out seven and walking two in a 6-3 win over the Giants in his last outing. Brandon Moss (.250, 32 Rs, 14 HRs, 32 RBIs) has been successful at the plate for the Cardinals, going 2 for 6 yesterday with one run, one home run, and two RBIs.
Notes
When leading after seven innings, St. Louis is 19-14, while Pittsburgh is 14-18.
The Cardinals managed to give up five walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Pirates who are heading in with a 13-9 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they are outhit, the Cardinals are 5-24. The Pirates have a 5-20 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 23rd in home runs, Pittsburgh has hit 57 this season. St. Louis ranks fifth with 82 home runs.
Pittsburgh and St. Louis both rank in the top 10 of the league in walks. Pittsburgh sits at sixth with 221 this season and St. Louis ranks eighth with 211.
The Pirates are 22-12 when they hit at least one home run. The Cardinals perform similarly when they hit one or more homers with a 26-16 record.
