In our Pittsburgh Pirates Wild Card Watch, we give you a daily primer as the Pirates chase down a 2016 playoff spot.
Welcome to the Pittsburgh Pirates Wild card Watch, a new feature here at Pirates Breakdown. In each installment, we will set the stage for the day’s action as the hunt for the National League Wild Card takes shape. We’ll take a quick look at the state of each of the club’s wild card rivals and pass along some relevant links to notable news about them.
For now, we are going to focus on the hunt for the second wild card. Should the next week or so put the Pirates in strong striking distance, we’ll open it up. For now, here is our first installment.
First, the all-important look at the Wild Card Standings.
St. Louis Cardinals
The Redbirds are treading water, having gone 5-5 in their last 10 games. In many ways, the last ten games are a microcosm of their season as a whole. The Cards went 46-42 in the first half of the year despite scoring 99 more runs than their opposition. In the second half, they are 22-19, scoring 10 less runs than their foes.
A 16-11 July represents their best monthly record of their 2016 season. It is entirely possible that the Cardinals are simply an average team that is playing to their level. Of course, injuries are to blame, and extended absences from Matt Holliday, Lance Lynn and others cannot be discounted.
St. Louis’ immediate schedule is as favorable to them as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ is unkind. Dual three-game series in Milwaukee and Cincinnati await the Cards before coming to PNC on September 5th. They will send Carlos Martinez, Adam Wainright and rookie Luke Weaver to the mound against the Brewers. Wainright has looked faulty recently, with a 7.50 ERA in his last five starts. Martinez has a somewhat-crooked 3.81 ERA in August, but hitters still hit just .214 against him in that time, suggesting it to be a bit of a fluke. Weaver has made just three starts in his career, but has shown well. In his last start, he struck out seven while walking two. He has given up a home run in each of his starts, so perhaps Ryan Braun, Chris Carter and the rest of the Brewers will take out their frustrations on the young right-hander.
Cardinals Links Of Note
- Viva El Birdos has a great read on what happened to Jaime Garcia.
- Arch Authority wonders if a relative unknown name is the biggest loss of the year for the birds.
Next, we’ll take a look at those pesky fish.
CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
