Pirates/MLB
Pittsburgh PiratesPittsburgh Pirates (2-1) @ St. Louis Cardinals (1-2)
Charlie Morton (0-0) vs Kyle Lohse (0-0)
Game Buzz
The Pittsburgh Pirates took two of three from the Chicago Cubs and enter a three game road stand against the St. Louis Cardinals tonight.
Charlie Morton takes the mound for the Pirates and is coming off of an excellent spring and all eyes will be on Morton tonight.
Morton went 2-12 with a 7.57 ERA in 17 starts last season but this spring showed several encouraging signs from mechanical issues to even his attitude.
He’s a wildcard in the Pirates rotation and there’s a lot of intrigue surrounding his outing tonight.
Morton was 1-0 against the Cardinals last season in 2 starts. In an 11-6 home win on September 22, Morton allowed 4 hits and 2 runs in 6 innings pitched to earn his 2nd victory of the season.
Tonight, he faces a Cardinals lineup that is struggling but have feasted on the Pirates, most notably Albert Pujols.
Pujols who is off to a 2-for-13 start, is a .374 lifetime hitter against Pittsburgh and also has 45 home runs and 134 RBI’s in his career against Pittsburgh.
Pujols is 4-for-10 in his career against Morton.
The Pirates have loss 8 of 9 games against the Cards.
Kyle Lohse will start for the Cardinals tonight and is 5-1 in his career against Pittsburgh. His only loss came against Charlie Morton last season.
Lohse, a former 15 game winner, went 4-8 with a 6.55 ERA in 2010.
The Pirates will get a big boost in their lineup with the return of Andrew McCutchen who sat out yesterday’s game due to a sore neck.
McCutchen has had a great success against the Cardinals, batting .345 in his last 16 games against the Cards and is 4-for-9 in his career against Lohse.
Jose Tabata and Pedro Alvarez are coming off three hit games for the Pirates. Alvarez has 4 RBI’s in his last two games.
Pirates Lineup
1. Jose Tabata, LF
2. Neil Walker, 2B
3. Andrew McCutchen, CF
4. Lyle Overbay, 1B
5. Pedro Alvarez, 3B
6. Ryan Doumit, C
7. Garrett Jones, RF
8. Ronny Cedeno, SS
9. Charlie Morton, P
