Brad Mills – USA Today Sports
The Pittsburgh Pirates are clicking on all cylinders these past few days.
In the doubleheader on Tuesday, the St. Louis Cardinals had nine hits combined in the two games against the Bucs, scoring only one run and losing both contests. Much of that can be credited to the stellar pitching performances from the Pirates, but the Cardinals haven’t been hitting the ball the last few days.
Game four of this five-game series will be a great game to watch as both teams will be sending their aces to the mound. The Cardinals will send out Adam Wainwright, who has been brilliant in a Cy Young-caliber season, while the Pirates will call on the young lefty phenom Jeff Locke.
This season, Locke has basically come out of nowhere to post a 9-3 record with a 2.15 ERA. Meanwhile, Wainwright has been great too in a season where he is shouldering more of the burden to lead the team than ever, currently owning a 13-6 record and a 2.51 ERA. Both pitchers have had numerous dominant performances this year, and it will be interesting to see which one will win in what is set up to be a pitcher’s duel.
The Pirates have controlled this series so far, but all good things must come to an end. The Cardinals have taken a lot of punches in this series and on Wednesday night, Locke will need to deliver another knockout punch lead the Pirates to yet another victory in what still looks to be a long a grueling race for the NL Central crown.
You can follow Reece Helms on Twitter at: @Reece_Helms
