Cards Look To Avoid Sweep

Looking forward to going home, Shelby Miller and the Cardinals will look to leave Pittsburgh with a win Sunday night, avoiding a sweep in the process.

The St. Louis Cardinals will look to snatch a win from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday as the two division rivals meet in the Game of the Week slot.

First pitch at PNC Park in Pittsburgh is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET.

St. Louis (18-19, 11-14 road) will take to the field Sunday looking to avoid a three-game sweep.

Mike Matheny’s side found itself on the wrong end of a 6-4 scoreline on Friday night before losing a close game 4-3 on Saturday.

The scoring came early in the evening game with the Cards taking a 3-0 lead in the second before the Bucs replied with four runs in the fourth. The rest of the game remained scoreless, with Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle making just enough moves to prevent the game slipping away.

The Cardinals, who will have played 26 of their first 38 games on the road by the end of Sunday’s game, will now look to pick up a win under the lights and return to the Gateway City – where they’ll play 19 of their next 22 – with something positive to take from a road trip that is currently 3-5.

While St. Louis has faced some tough road trips of late, Pittsburgh (16-20, 12-10 home) has showed signs of rediscovering the kind of form that saw the team head to the postseason a year ago.

The Pirates have won four straight and six of the last eight to climb within a game-and-a-half of the Cardinals in the NL Central standings. While the Milwaukee Brewers (23-14) continue to pace the division, the Pirates will know that a win over the Cardinals, and the ensuing sweep, will be a move closer to gaining ground on the division leaders.

The Pirates, who haven’t been great at home, are just 12-16 against division opponents this season though. The Cardinals meanwhile are 13-13.

St. Louis will send right-hander Shelby Miller (4-2, 3.20 ERA) to the mound on Sunday night.

With a victory over the Atlanta Braves on Monday, Miller has recorded the win in his last four decisions. He allowed two earned runs on six hits against the Braves, striking out five and walking a pair.

The second-year pitcher is 1-1 against the Pirates this season. He was roughed up on April 4, allowing five earned runs on six hits, including three home runs, as he recorded a loss. He bounced back on April 25, allowing just three hits and no runs as he took home the win.

Pittsburgh’s Charlie Morton (0-4, 3.45 ERA) will toe the rubber for the home side.

Morton snapped a streak of four straight losses on Tuesday as he recorded a no decision against the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park. He allowed one run on three hits through eight innings in a game the Bucs went on to win.

The six-year man out of Flemington, N.J., has been the victim of a lack of run support this season. The Pirates average less than 2.4 runs per game when Morton takes the mound, an average that has dropped to just 1.6 over his last five starts. He’ll be hoping the Pirates can put some numbers up on the scoreboard in his first start against St. Louis this season.

Pittsburgh outfielder Andrew McCutcheon missed his first game of the season Saturday, sitting out the middle game of the series with a sore foot. He’s expected to be back in the lineup on Sunday night.

The Pirates continue to play without catcher Russell Martin, currently on the 15-day DL with a leg injury. Martin is eligible to come off the list on Sunday but will face a one-game suspension before he can return to the lineup. Tony Sanchez will continue to deputize.

Andrew McCutcheon missed Saturday’s game but is expected to play Sunday.

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates odds for 05/11/2014

St. Louis (-112) opened as a rare road favorite on the moneyline, leaving Pittsburgh (+102) in the underdog role. However, there’s a mixed feeling amongst the sportsbooks as to who will win this one, which means it’s worth shopping around.

The Pirates are 5-3 against the Cardinals so far this season, thanks to this weekend’s pair of victories. The Cardinals have managed to snatch just one win (from five games) at PNC Park so far this year.

The total opened at 7.5. Depending on which sportsbook you look at, both the over and under are favored so, again, it’s worth shopping around.

Only two of the eight head-to-head meetings between the sides have seen the sides combine for eight or more runs so far this season, one of which was this past Friday’s 6-4 final.

The total has gone under in 14 of St. Louis’ last 20 road games.

• Looking ahead, the Pirates will hit the road this week for three-game sets with Milwaukee (Tue-Thu) and the New York Yankees (Fri-Sun). The Cardinals will return home for a four-game series with the Chicago Cubs (Mon-Thu) before hosting Atlanta over the weekend (Fri-Sun).

For a full list of today’s Major League Baseball odds, click here.

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