Jonathon Niese (6-2, 3.93 ERA) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (32-30) meet Mike Leake (4-4, 4.22 ERA) and the St. Louis Cardinals (34-28) in the last of a three-game division series at PNC Park. The Cardinals won the last game 5-1, and St. Louis leads the series 2-0. The game gets underway at 5:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jun. 12 and will air on ESPN.
In his last start, Niese pitched 7.0 innings, giving up zero runs, striking out two and walking two in a 3-1 victory over the Mets. Starling Marte (.329, 33 Rs, 5 HRs, 22 RBIs, 19 SBs) played well again yesterday, going 3 for 4. The Cardinals were unsuccessful against the Reds 7-6 the last time Leake pitched. He went 6.1 innings, allowing six runs and striking out five. Brandon Moss (.256, 33 Rs, 14 HRs, 32 RBIs) has been doing well offensively for the Cardinals, going 2 for 4 yesterday with one run.
Notes
When leading after seven innings, St. Louis is 19-14, while Pittsburgh is 14-18.
The Cardinals are coming off of a weak pitching game where they recorded six strikeouts. The Pirates have a record of 12-8 when opponents’ pitchers have six strikeouts or less.
When they are outhit, the Cardinals are 5-24. The Pirates have a 5-21 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 23rd in home runs, Pittsburgh has hit 57 this season. St. Louis ranks fifth with 83 home runs.
Pittsburgh and St. Louis both rank in the top 10 of the league in walks. Pittsburgh sits at sixth with 224 this season and St. Louis ranks seventh with 215.
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 27-16 record.
