The Pirates roll into St. Louis on a 3-game losing streak after Philadelphia handed them consecutive 6-0 shutouts over the weekend. The bats have gone cold at the worst possible time — 1 run total over the last 2 games against the Phillies — and now they get a Cardinals team sitting at 27-19 and 4 games up on them in the standings.
Mitch Keller is the right guy to stop the bleeding. He's been the Pirates' rotation anchor and was carving the Rockies on May 13 before a 6-run 5th inning torched the whole night. Outside of that one disaster frame he's been excellent — a 3.59 ERA and a 0.50 HR/9 are not flukes. Matthew Liberatore counters for St. Louis and has been fine, not dominant, sitting at a 4.40 ERA across his first 8 starts.
This is a true pick'em on the moneyline — Pinnacle has the Cardinals at -105 and the Pirates at -103, basically a coin flip with St. Louis getting a sliver of home-field nod. The total sits at 8 with the under shaded slightly. That tracks: two starters who profile as ground-ball, contact-management guys, and a Pirates offense that's currently allergic to scoring.
The injury column is where this gets uglier for Pittsburgh. Ryan O'Hearn is on the IL with a moderate quad strain that's expected to keep him out roughly 4 weeks, Joey Bart is banged up behind the plate, and the bullpen is missing Devenski, Mosqueda, and Clevinger. St. Louis has its own problems — Masyn Winn is day-to-day with left knee discomfort after exiting Sunday's loss to the Royals, and Lars Nootbaar is still working his way back on a rehab assignment at Single-A Palm Beach.
- Day-To-DayAnthony Solometo SP — Solometo is sidelined at Double-A Altoona with recurring left shoulder discomfort, Jose Negron of DK Pittsburgh Sports reports.
- Day-To-DayOddanier Mosqueda RP — Mosqueda will not throw for a couple weeks due to left forearm inflammation, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
- Day-To-DayMike Clevinger RP — Clevinger is expected to be sidelined for around six weeks after being diagnosed with an MCL sprain in his right knee, Jason Mackey of MLB.com reports.
- Day-To-DaySean Sullivan SP — Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Sullivan is battling right elbow soreness, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
- 10-Day-ILRyan O'Hearn RF — Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday that O'Hearn's right quadriceps strain is considered "moderate" and will likely keep him on the injured list for around four weeks, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILJoey Bart C — Manager Don Kelly said Bart, who is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Rockies, is "banged up," Chris Halicke of DK Pittsburgh Sports reports.
- 15-Day-ILChris Devenski RP — The Pirates placed Devenski on the 15-day injured list Thursday due to an illness.
- 60-Day-ILJared Jones SP — Jones (elbow) threw four scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out four in a rehab appearance with Double-A Altoona on Tuesday, per MLB.com.
- Day-To-DayMasyn Winn SS — Winn is considered day-to-day after exiting Sunday's 2-0 loss to the Royals with left knee discomfort, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
- Day-To-DayPacky Naughton RP — Naughton will undergo surgery next month to repair the damaged UCL in his left elbow, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
- Day-To-DaySem Robberse SP — Robberse (elbow) signed a minor-league contract with the Cardinals on Monday, which includes an invitation to spring training, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
- Day-To-DayVictor Santos RP — The Red Sox traded Santos (undisclosed) and Nick Robertson to the Cardinals on Friday in exchange for Tyler O'Neill (foot), Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.
- Day-To-DayIxan Henderson SP — Henderson (elbow) is starting the season on the 60-day injured list at Triple-A Memphis.
- Day-To-DayZack Thompson RP — The Cardinals reassigned Thompson (shoulder) to minor-league camp Monday.
- 10-Day-ILRamon Urias 3B — Urias was scheduled to get his injured right elbow re-evaluated by a doctor Friday, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
- 60-Day-ILLars Nootbaar LF — Nootbaar (heels) will begin a rehab assignment with Single-A Palm Beach on Friday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Bottom line: the Cardinals are the better team right now, but Keller is the kind of arm that can flatten a series opener by himself. If Pittsburgh's lineup shows even mild signs of life — Brandon Lowe has 12 homers and is the one bat that's been consistently dangerous — this game gets interesting fast. If the bats stay frozen, we're looking at shutout number 3 in 4 games.