I'm not sure why, but as a Pirate fan, I want this fifth win over the Cardinals every bit as bad as I wanted the first four. The Pirates have made a statement in this series regardless of what happens in tonight's game, but a five-game sweep would be one of the most emphatic statements I can remember happening in recent years. I'm being greedy and I know it, but one thing that I know is that you have to win games when you're playing well and the Pirates are on a pretty incredible high right now.
To go for the five-game sweep, Charlie Morton takes the mound against Joe Kelly. Morton's last start against the Marlins was pretty uneven, but he did manage six strikeouts in five innings. I will continue to hope that every single time out might be the time that it all clicks for Morton and that suddenly, he's going to start dominating full games and doing more than just flashing incredible potential from time to time. Stranger things have happened. The Pirates are in first place.
Joe Kelly starts for the Cards. He's bounced between the bullpen and rotation in St. Louis for two years now, pitching occasionally well and occasionally poorly. You may remember him from the 19-inning game last year, when he threw 5 2/3 innings of solid relief at the Pirates. His last start against the Braves saw him go seven shutout innings, but I think the opportunity exists to score some runs for the Pirates tonight.
The first pitch is at 7:05. I think the game is on the MLB Network if you're out of market.
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