As the Pittsburgh Pirates look to put their sweep at the hands of the Chicago Cubs behind them, they face a familiar NL Central foe. Here are the matchups to watch
From April 24 to April 30, the Pittsburgh Pirates were one of the best teams in baseball, finishing with a 6-0 record in that six day span. Since then, the Pirates have stumbled, losing four games in a row including a three game sweep at the hands of the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park. The Pirates now get set for a nine game road trip in St Louis, Cincinnati, and Chicago. Tonight, the Pirates begin a three game set against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Both the Pirates and Cardinals seem to have interesting battles and this series is bound to contain an abundance of intriguing matchups.
3.) Francisco Liriano vs Matt Carpenter
Tonight, the Pirates send Francisco Liriano to the mound for his second start of the season against the Cardinals. In his first start against St Louis, the 32-year old struck out ten in six innings on Opening Day at PNC Park. The Cardinals have been a familiar foe of Liriano’s throughout his career as a Pirate. One player in particular that Liriano has faced on multiple occasions is Cardinals second baseman Matt Carpenter.
In his career against Liriano, Carpenter is 5-for-28 (.179) with two doubles, one RBI, six walks and nine strikeouts. Carpenter is easily one of the best hitters in the Cardinals lineup, but based on his struggles against Liriano and the mismatch against a left handed pitcher, this matchup may be in Liriano’s favor. In his career against left handed pitchers, Carpenter is hitting .261, which doesn’t seem too bad in only 792 total plate appearances. Carpenter has clearly faced more right handed pitchers throughout his career, but has also hit better against righties, hitting .296 in 1786 at-bats.
Carpenter, like many of the Cardinals usual consistent contributors, has struggled to begin the season, hitting .240 with three home runs, 17 RBI and 25 strikeouts in 104 at-bats. His struggles against lefties have been evident as well, as he is hitting only .231 against southpaws this season.
Liriano has been so-so to begin the season, having some trouble with command. However, he is coming off of one of his best starts of the season as he gave up one earned run on five hits while strikeout out six and failing to surrender a walk in six innings of work. Liriano will look to pick up his third victory of the season tonight and it all begins with a matchup to watch against the Cardinals leadoff hitter, Matt Carpenter.
2.) Andrew McCutchen vs Adam Wainwright
This particular matchup would usually be highly anticipated due to the fact that McCutchen and Wainwright are two of the best at their respective positions. However, this matchup is between two stars that have struggled in the first month of the 2016 season.
This season, Wainwright has had rare struggles, going 2-3 with a 6.68 ERA in six starts. Wainwright has given up at least three earned runs in each of his starts this season and has also struggled a bit with command.
McCutchen has also had struggles to start the season, hitting only .229 with six home runs, 12 RBI and 29 strikeouts in 109 at-bats.
Despite these struggles, McCutchen has had success in the past against Wainwright. In his career, McCutchen is 13-for-45 (.289) with one home run, four RBI, five doubles, one triple and eight strikeouts against the Cardinals long time ace.
This matchup is extremely intriguing due to the struggles of both players. It is a matchup that could go either way, but it could provide an opportunity for McCutchen to possibly continue his success against a familiar opponent.
1.) Francisco Cervelli vs Michael Wacha
On Sunday afternoon, the Pirates take on the new undisputed ace of the Cardinals pitching staff, Michael Wacha. Since making his big league debut in 2013, Wacha has been one of the best pitchers in baseball, sporting an impressive 28-16 record and 3.16 career ERA. The 24-year old is making his ninth career regular season start against the Pirates and has plenty of experience against this lineup, which contains a lot of players who have been with the team since 2013.
There were a few matchups to keep an eye on for Sunday’s matchup including Wacha versus McCutchen, who is 11-for-19 (.579) with one home run and three RBI in his career against the Cardinals right hander. However, a matchup to watch could include whichever catcher is behind the plate for the Bucs. It is likely that Chris Stewart may be behind the plate with Gerrit Cole on the mound, but with Francisco Cervelli’s brief success against Wacha, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in there as well.
In his career against Wacha, Cervelli is 3-for-10 (.300) with one home run and five RBI. The home run hit by Cervelli happened to be a key hit in a contest last season against the Cardinals, a grand slam on September 30.
[mlbvideo id=”509736183″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]Cervelli has been stellar this season hitting primarily out of the fifth spot in the Pirates lineup. This season, the 30-year old hitting .307 with 12 RBI, 17 walks and 16 strikeouts in 25 games. Wacha has also been good early on in the season, going 2-2 with a 2.65 ERA in six starts.
Cervelli doesn’t have the amount of at-bats that a guy like McCutchen has against Wacha, but he is bound to have an intriguing matchup against the Cardinals number one starter.
This three game set between Pittsburgh and St Louis is just the start of the Pirates long nine game road trip against National League Central opponents. It is bound to be a series in which the Pirates have an opportunity to bounce back from a series sweep to the Cubs and will be chalk full of interesting matchups to keep an eye on. Buckle up Pittsburgh, it’s bound to be an exciting and bumpy series.
Photo credit – USA Today Images
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