The St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates continue their weekend set on Saturday in Pittsburgh. The Cardinals are in first place in the NL Central Division and have widened their lead since the trade deadline. As for Pittsburgh, the young Pirates team is playing out the string and will be playing the role of spoiler down the stretch. The pitching matchup for Saturday's game two will feature righty Jack Flaherty (0-1, 4.15) of the Cardinals taking on fellow righty JT Brubaker (3-11, 4.35) of the Pirates. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:35pm EST.
The St.Louis Cardinals have taken flight since the trade deadline and appear to be in prime position to once again stand atop the NL Central Division in 2022. In their last twenty games prior to Friday night's series opener with the Pirates, the Cardinals have gone 14-6. Since the trade deadline, in which the Cards acquired two premium left-handed starters in Jose Quintana and Jordan Montgomery, the team has gone 26-9. On Friday night in Pittsburgh, the Cardinals pitching was pummeled by the Pirates lineup in an 8-2 loss. The Cards were held to just two runs on six hits.
We're proudly wearing our St. Louis Stars uniforms for tonight's game. pic.twitter.com/cBfQSqmlBd
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 9, 2022
The Cardinals pitching has seen a huge uptick since acquiring both Quintana and Montgomery at the deadline. The two left-handers have given the team quality innings and helped to reshape the rotation with Montgomery and Quintana both taking spots in the top third of the rotation. Since the trade deadline, the Cardinals have had 16 quality starts and taken a stranglehold of first place in the NL Central Division. On the mound on Saturday night will be right-hander Jack Flaherty. Flaherty is 0-1 in four appearances for the Cards this season. He was stretched out to a season-high five innings in his last start, a 6-0 loss to the Nationals. He went five innings and allowed six hits and just one run in taking the hard-luck loss. He made a start in June against the Pirates and gave up four hits and four runs in just three innings of work while throwing just 60 pitches. His 90 pitches against the Nationals in his last start was a season-high for the 26-year old.