Pirates

Pirates Preview: Mitch Keller Leads Bucs in Rubber Match Against Cardinals

Published

7 months ago

June 13, 2024

The Pittsburgh Pirates fell 4-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night which evened the series at one game apiece.

Henry Davis hits his first home run of the season for the Pirates (32-35) but Bailey Falter was knocked around and wasn’t able to get to the fifth inning for the second-straight start.

The Pirates and Cardinals (32-34) will settle their three-game series in the rubber match on Thursday afternoon.

First pitch is 2:15 ET and the game will be aired on Sportsnet Pittsburgh.

Weather

Very sunny and very hot. Temperatures in the mid-90s with winds S-SSW at 10 mph.

The Pittsburgh Pirates Will Send Out RHP Mitch Keller (8-3, 3.16 ERA)

Keller’s turnaround this season has been remarkable.

The right-hander had a 5.18 ERA through his first seven starts of the season but has been on fire since the start of May. In his last six starts, Keller has a 1.13 ERA and has won all six of his outings.

His 1.13 ERA is the second-best in baseball since May 6, behind only Garrett Crochet of the White Sox (1.03). Keller’s six wins since then are tied for the second-most.

In 10 career starts against the Cardinals, Keller is is 2-1 with a 3.29 ERA.

The St. Louis Cardinals Will Send Out RHP Lance Lynn (2-3, 3.58 ERA)

Lynn returned to St. Louis as a free agent this offseason. The now 37-year-old made his MLB debut with the Cardinals in 2011 and spent six seasons in the big leagues with them.

The 13-year veteran is off to a strong start in his return to the Cardinals after splitting the last six seasons between five different teams.

In his last start against the Rockies, Lynn lasted four innings and allowed four runs on six hits and punched out six.

This will be Lynn’s 25th appearance against the Pirates, the most he’s had against any one team. He’s gone 7-8 with a 5.31 ERA against Pittsburgh.

Cardinals Hitters vs. Keller

Paul Goldschmidt: 5 for 23, one double, one RBI, three walks, five strikeouts
Nolan Arenado: 4 for 17, one double, one home run, four RBIs, four strikeouts
Dylan Carlson: 1 for 11, two walks, three strikeouts
Brenden Donovan: 1 for 10, one double
Nolan Gorman: 2 for 9, one double, two walks, two strikeouts
Brandon Crawford: 3 for 6, one double, one RBI, one walk, one strikeout
Matt Carpenter: 1 for 5, one double, two walks, one strikeout
Alec Burleson: 0 for 4

Pirates Hitters vs. Lynn

Andrew McCutchen: 12 for 54, four doubles, two RBIs, one walk, 20 strikeouts
Michael A. Taylor: 5 for 16, one home run, one RBI, four strikeouts
Rowdy Tellez: 2 for 8, two strikeouts
Edward Olivares: 1 for 6
Yasmani Grandal: 1 for 5, one home run, one RBI, one walk, one strikeout

Tidbits

Bailey Falter entered Wednesday’s start having not allowed a run on the road in his last 13.2 innings pitched. The Cardinals snapped that streak with two outs in the third inning.
Prior to Henry Davis’ home run on Wednesday, Pirates’ catchers had gone hitless in their last 23 at-bats.
Bryan Reynolds extended his hitting streak to 10 games in the Pirates’ loss. It’s the longest active streak in the National League.