The St. Louis Cardinals (5-7) will be trying to win consecutive series for the first time this season when they face the Pittsburgh Pirates (7-5) in the second game of their four-game series on Friday night.
Johan Oviedo, 1-0, 3.18 ERA, will get the start for the Pirates. The Cardinals will counter with Jake Woodford, 0-2, 9.00 ERA.
Pittsburgh and St. Louis split their last 10 meetings.
**This preview was written before Thursday’s game was played**
The Pirates are coming off their second series loss of the season after dropping two of three games to Houston. They will try to turn things around with a win over the Cardinals, which will give them their seventh win in their last 10 games.
Pittsburgh is averaging 4.25 runs per game. Their .228 batting average is 26th in the league. Their .309 on base percentage is 24th, while their .405 slugging percentage is 17th.
Bryan Reynolds has been the big bat for the Pirates. He leads the team with a .347 batting average, five home runs, and 14 RBI.
Pittsburgh’s pitching hasn’t been good, with the team giving up five runs per game. Opponents have a .257 batting average against the Pirates, which is 19th in the league. Their 4.92 ERA is 21st, while their 1.44 WHIP is 22nd.
In his last start, Oviedo gave up five hits and no runs in 6.2 innings, leading to a 1-0 win over the White Sox. They will need a similar effort from him if they want to win this game.