Pirates

Pirates Preview: Looking to Stay Hot in Summery St. Louis

Published

8 months ago

September 2, 2023

The Pittsburgh Pirates (62-73) were 4-2 extra-inning winners against the St. Louis Cardinals (58-77) to extend their winning streak to four games.

Mitch Keller turned in his fourth quality start in a row for the Pirates and Liover Peguero impacted the game in all three facets to help lift the Pirates to the win.

The Pirates will now look to continue their winning ways on Saturday night at Busch Stadium

First pitch is set for 7:15 ET and the game will be broadcasted on AT&T SportsNet.

Weather

Clear skies and hot. First pitch temperature expected to be around 86 degrees. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.

The Pittsburgh Pirates Will Send Out RHP Thomas Hatch (1-1, 3.20 ERA)

Since joining the Pirates, Hatch has made seven appearances with one of those coming as a starting pitcher.

In total, the right-hander is 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA (4er/13.1ip) with Pittsburgh. He’s allowed 11 hits, walked five and has struck out six.

His lone start in the black and gold came against the Cardinals at PNC Park on Aug. 21. In that game, Hatch threw three scoreless innings while allowing only a pair of hits.

The St. Louis Cardinals Will Send Out LHP Drew Rom (0-2, 8.00 ERA)

Rom is now two starts into his big league career after making his major league debut against the Pirates back on Aug. 21.

In that game against the Pirates, the left-hander lasted only 3.2 innings after allowing eight runs on eight hits and four walks. He struck out four batters.

In his last start against the Philadelphia Phillies, Rom fared much better. He held the Phillies to one run in 5.1 innings pitched and punched out six batters.

Cardinals Hitters vs. Hatch

Tyler O’Neill: 1 for 2, one double
Willson Contreras: 1 for 1

Pirates Hitters vs. Rom

Ke’Bryan Hayes: 1 for 3, one double
Andrew McCutchen: 1 for 3, one strikeout
Bryan Reynolds: 1 for 3, one double
Joshua Palacios: 1 for 2, one home run, three RBIs, one walk, one strikeout
Endy Rodriguez: 2 for 2, one RBI, one walk
Liover Peguero: 1 for 1, two RBIs, one walk

Tidbits

After striking out eight batters against St. Louis, Keller is tied for third in the National League with 187 strikeouts.
The Pirates allowed 10 runs in back-to-back games against the Chicago Cubs at the end of their last homestand. Since then, they’ve allowed a total of six runs across their last four games.
The Pirates went 7.1 innings against the Cardinals on Friday without having a batter strikeout. For the game, they struck out four times in 39 plate appearances.