Pirates

Pirates Preview: Oviedo Looks to Bounce Back Against Former Team

Published

8 months ago

August 22, 2023

Thanks in part to a career-high five RBIs from Joshua Palacios, the Pittsburgh Pirates (56-69) cruised to an 11-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals (55-71) on Monday night.

Palacios’ big night came against his younger brother, Richie, as the two faced each other in the major leagues for the first time.

Now, the Pirates will try and earn a series win with Johan Oviedo on the mound on Tuesday night.

First pitch is 7:05 ET and the game will be aired on AT&T SportsNet.

Weather

Temperatures will be in the upper-70s with mostly cloudy skies expected for first pitch. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.

The Pirates Will Send Out RHP Johan Oviedo (6-13, 4.55 ERA)

After three really good starts in a row, Oviedo has struggled each of his last two times on the mound.

In his last two games, he has allowed 10 runs in 9.0 innings (10.00 ERA) and has walked as man batters (seven) as he has struck out.

This is the fourth time (third start) Oviedo has faced his former club since joining the Pirates.

In his career against St. Louis, the right-hander is 0-2 with a 5.56 ERA. He faced the Cardinals on Apr. 14 this season and allowed one run across seven strong innings.

The Cardinals Will Send Out RHP Adam Wainwright (3-8, 8.42 ERA)

The veteran Wainwright is only two wins shy of 200 in his big league career but has taken the loss in seven consecutive decisions.

In that span (eight starts), Wainwright has allowed 41 runs on 57 hits in 29.0 innings pitched (12.72 ERA). Opponents have slashed .416/.477/.708 with nine home runs in those eight games.

For his career, Wainwright has faced the Pirates 50 times. He is 23-8 with a 3.72 ERA against the Pirates. Those 23 wins are the most he has against any opponent.

Cardinals Hitters vs. Oviedo

Willson Contreras: 3 for 14, four RBIs, three walks, two strikeouts
Nolan Arenado: 5 for 8, two RBIs, one strikeout
Tommy Edman: 2 for 8, one double, one RBI, two strikeouts
Paul Goldschmidt: 2 for 5, one walk
Tyler O’Neill: 0 for 3, two strikeouts

Pirates Hitters vs. Wainwright

Andrew McCutchen: 25 for 80, seven doubles, one triple, three home runs, 13 RBIs, four walks, 17 strikeouts
Bryan Reynolds: 7 for 33, one double, eight strikeouts
Ke’Bryan Hayes: 0 for 13, three strikeouts
Jack Suwinski: 1 for 4, one RBI, two walks, one strikeout
Connor Joe: 0 for 3, one walk, one strikeout

Tidbits

With Joshua’s home run and Richie appearing in the game in the ninth, it marked the third time in the Modern Era that a Pirates’ player hit a home run in the same game in which his brother appeared for the opposing team.
With three doubles and four runs scored on Monday, Connor Joe became the eighth Pirates’ player in the Modern Era (since 1900) to record 3+ doubles and 4+ runs scored in a single game.
This is the first time since 1995 that the Pirates and Cardinals have squared off this late in the season in the bottom two places of the division standings.