St. Louis will wrap up its three-game series in Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon. The Cardinals came up short in the series opener, as the Pirates came away with an 8-2 win. This story was published prior to Saturday night’s contest.
St. Louis used an outstanding month of August to pull away from Milwaukee in the National League Central standings. The Cardinals won five of their first six games in September as well, including a series sweep over the Cubs. They split their four-game series with Washington earlier this week before dropping Friday’s series opener in Pittsburgh. St. Louis is eight games ahead of Milwaukee atop the NL Central, so the Cardinals could clinch the division title within the next 10 days. They have the fourth-best record in the NL, sitting six games behind New York.
Happy 35th Birthday Goldy! ?? pic.twitter.com/EgrghJuKdQ
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 10, 2022
The Cardinals are a strong offensive team, ranked seventh in the majors with a batting average of .257. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt leads the way with 162 hits, including 35 home runs. Third baseman Nolan Arenado and second baseman Tommy Edman have been key pieces of the offense as well. They will be facing a Pittsburgh pitching staff that is No. 26 with an ERA of 4.67. Left-handed pitcher Jose Quintana is going to start for St. Louis on Sunday afternoon. He allowed one run on five hits across five innings against Washington on Tuesday. Quintana is 5-6 with a 3.41 ERA and 114 strikeouts this season.