St. Louis; Tuesday, 7:45 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: JT Brubaker (3-2, 2.58 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 41 strikeouts) Cardinals: John Gant (2-3, 1.84 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 29 strikeouts)
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cardinals -134, Pirates +116; over/under is 7 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE:
The Cardinals are 10-5 against NL Central teams. St. Louis has hit 53 home runs this season, sixth in the National League. Nolan Arenado leads the club with nine, averaging one every 17.8 at-bats.
The Pirates are 7-14 against teams from the NL Central. Pittsburgh has hit 26 home runs this season, the lowest total in the National League. Bryan Reynolds leads the club with three while slugging .474.
The Cardinals won the last meeting 3-0. Carlos Martinez secured his second victory and Harrison Bader went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs for St. Louis. Wil Crowe took his first loss for Pittsburgh.
TOP PERFORMERS: Arenado leads the Cardinals with nine home runs and is batting .300.
Reynolds leads the Pirates with three home runs and is batting .299.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 5-5, .219 batting average, 3.58 ERA, outscored by four runs
Pirates: 4-6, .236 batting average, 4.35 ERA, outscored by 15 runs
INJURIES: Cardinals: Daniel Ponce de Leon: (soulder), Andrew Miller: (toe), Miles Mikolas: (right shoulder), Carlos Martinez: (ankle), Dakota Hudson: (right elbow), Jordan Hicks: (elbow), John Nogowski: (hand), Paul DeJong: (side).
Pirates: Jose Soriano: (elbow), Chad Kuhl: (right shoulder), Austin Davis: (elbow), Kyle Crick: (undisclosed), Blake Cederlind: (elbow), Steven Brault: (lat strain), Phillip Evans: (left hamstring), Colin Moran: (left groin), Ke’Bryan Hayes: (wrist), Jacob Stallings: (quad).
