Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals major league baseball streaming live feed online broadcast radio commentary Espn mlb schedule Star tv 360 gamecast April 4, 2011 Albert Pujols is off to a slow start, but a three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates could change that in a hurry.
The St. Louis Cardinals wouldn't mind some production from the three-time NL MVP as he looks to continue his dominance of the visiting Pirates on Monday night.
Pujols went 2 for 13 with a solo homer and grounded into four double plays as St. Louis opened the season by losing two of three to San Diego at Busch Stadium.
The nine-time All-Star was 0 for 4 in the series finale Sunday, but the Cardinals won 2-0 behind Jaime Garcia's four-hitter.
8:15 PM ET, April 4, 2011
Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
Gameday Matchup
Pittsburgh St. Louis
W-L 2 - 1 1 - 2
Night 0-0 0-0
Grass 2-1 1-2
Current Streak W1 W1
Last 10 2-1 1-2
Pitching Matchup
Pittsburgh St. Louis
Charlie Morton
0-0, 0.00 ERA
Kyle Lohse
0-0, 0.00 ERA
WATCH Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals NOW
Injury Report
Pittsburgh
* Andrew McCutchen CF - Apr 3: Day-To-Day
* Scott Olsen SP - Mar 31: 15-Day DL
* Jose Ascanio RP - Mar 31: 15-Day DL
* Chris Snyder C - Mar 31: Day-to-Day
St. Louis
* Matt Holliday LF - Apr 4: Day-to-Day
Gameday Line
FAVORITE OPEN CUR UNDERDOG O/U
@St. Louis N/A 150 Pittsburgh 9
Albert Pujols is off to a slow start, but a three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates could change that in a hurry.
The St. Louis Cardinals wouldn't mind some production from the three-time NL MVP as he looks to continue his dominance of the visiting Pirates on Monday night.
Pujols went 2 for 13 with a solo homer and grounded into four double plays as St. Louis opened the season by losing two of three to San Diego at Busch Stadium.
The nine-time All-Star was 0 for 4 in the series finale Sunday, but the Cardinals won 2-0 behind Jaime Garcia's four-hitter.
Pujols is in ideal position to shake his slump. The first baseman is a .374 lifetime hitter against Pittsburgh. His 134 RBIs versus the Pirates are his most against any opponent and his 45 homers are two fewer than his production against the Chicago Cubs.
He's batted a whopping .458 with six homers and 16 RBIs in his last 20 home meetings with the Pirates, and is 4 for 10 off their scheduled starter, Charlie Morton.
While Pujols tries to regain his stroke, Kyle Lohse is looking to regain the form that produced a career-high 15 wins in 2008 -- his first season with St. Louis. The right-hander has totaled 10 wins since while struggling with various injuries. He went 4-8 with a 6.55 ERA in 18 starts last year.
However, Lohse turned in a productive spring training, allowing five runs in 24 innings over five starts.
"He's already proven to us when he's healthy he's a quality pitcher," manager Tony La Russa told the Cardinals' official website. "He's healthy, and we have to keep him healthy, and he'll be fine. Then we have to do the rest of the stuff, play defense and score some runs."
Lohse is 5-1 with a 3.41 ERA in 10 games versus Pittsburgh.
The Pirates are off to a solid start after taking two of three at Chicago. They rallied for two runs in the ninth inning to earn a 5-4 victory Sunday.
Pittsburgh center fielder Andrew McCutchen missed the series finale due to a stiff neck stemming from a diving attempt at a fly ball Saturday. His status is unclear for Monday.
McCutchen has a .345 average with nine doubles and 13 runs over his last 16 meetings with the Cardinals, and is 8 for 19 in his last five games in St. Louis. He's 4 for 9 with two doubles off Lohse.
That sort of production might be essential with Morton on the mound. The right-hander went 2-12 with a 7.57 ERA in 17 starts last season.
"Any opportunity I get, I want to make the best of it," Morton said. "I honestly can say that I did everything I could last year, but what I was doing just didn't work. I think we've worked on some things and made some adjustments."
One of Morton's victories came against the Cardinals and Lohse on Sept. 22, when he allowed two runs and four hits in six innings while McCutchen went 2 for 3 with an RBI and two runs scored in Pittsburgh's 11-6 home win.
Lohse lasted just three innings and was tagged for six runs and seven hits.
The Pirates have dropped eight of their last nine games in St. Louis.
The St. Louis Cardinals wouldn't mind some production from the three-time NL MVP as he looks to continue his dominance of the visiting Pirates on Monday night.
Pujols went 2 for 13 with a solo homer and grounded into four double plays as St. Louis opened the season by losing two of three to San Diego at Busch Stadium.
The nine-time All-Star was 0 for 4 in the series finale Sunday, but the Cardinals won 2-0 behind Jaime Garcia's four-hitter.
8:15 PM ET, April 4, 2011
Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
Gameday Matchup
Pittsburgh St. Louis
W-L 2 - 1 1 - 2
Night 0-0 0-0
Grass 2-1 1-2
Current Streak W1 W1
Last 10 2-1 1-2
Pitching Matchup
Pittsburgh St. Louis
Charlie Morton
0-0, 0.00 ERA
Kyle Lohse
0-0, 0.00 ERA
WATCH Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals NOW
Injury Report
Pittsburgh
* Andrew McCutchen CF - Apr 3: Day-To-Day
* Scott Olsen SP - Mar 31: 15-Day DL
* Jose Ascanio RP - Mar 31: 15-Day DL
* Chris Snyder C - Mar 31: Day-to-Day
St. Louis
* Matt Holliday LF - Apr 4: Day-to-Day
Gameday Line
FAVORITE OPEN CUR UNDERDOG O/U
@St. Louis N/A 150 Pittsburgh 9
Albert Pujols is off to a slow start, but a three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates could change that in a hurry.
The St. Louis Cardinals wouldn't mind some production from the three-time NL MVP as he looks to continue his dominance of the visiting Pirates on Monday night.
Pujols went 2 for 13 with a solo homer and grounded into four double plays as St. Louis opened the season by losing two of three to San Diego at Busch Stadium.
The nine-time All-Star was 0 for 4 in the series finale Sunday, but the Cardinals won 2-0 behind Jaime Garcia's four-hitter.
Pujols is in ideal position to shake his slump. The first baseman is a .374 lifetime hitter against Pittsburgh. His 134 RBIs versus the Pirates are his most against any opponent and his 45 homers are two fewer than his production against the Chicago Cubs.
He's batted a whopping .458 with six homers and 16 RBIs in his last 20 home meetings with the Pirates, and is 4 for 10 off their scheduled starter, Charlie Morton.
While Pujols tries to regain his stroke, Kyle Lohse is looking to regain the form that produced a career-high 15 wins in 2008 -- his first season with St. Louis. The right-hander has totaled 10 wins since while struggling with various injuries. He went 4-8 with a 6.55 ERA in 18 starts last year.
However, Lohse turned in a productive spring training, allowing five runs in 24 innings over five starts.
"He's already proven to us when he's healthy he's a quality pitcher," manager Tony La Russa told the Cardinals' official website. "He's healthy, and we have to keep him healthy, and he'll be fine. Then we have to do the rest of the stuff, play defense and score some runs."
Lohse is 5-1 with a 3.41 ERA in 10 games versus Pittsburgh.
The Pirates are off to a solid start after taking two of three at Chicago. They rallied for two runs in the ninth inning to earn a 5-4 victory Sunday.
Pittsburgh center fielder Andrew McCutchen missed the series finale due to a stiff neck stemming from a diving attempt at a fly ball Saturday. His status is unclear for Monday.
McCutchen has a .345 average with nine doubles and 13 runs over his last 16 meetings with the Cardinals, and is 8 for 19 in his last five games in St. Louis. He's 4 for 9 with two doubles off Lohse.
That sort of production might be essential with Morton on the mound. The right-hander went 2-12 with a 7.57 ERA in 17 starts last season.
"Any opportunity I get, I want to make the best of it," Morton said. "I honestly can say that I did everything I could last year, but what I was doing just didn't work. I think we've worked on some things and made some adjustments."
One of Morton's victories came against the Cardinals and Lohse on Sept. 22, when he allowed two runs and four hits in six innings while McCutchen went 2 for 3 with an RBI and two runs scored in Pittsburgh's 11-6 home win.
Lohse lasted just three innings and was tagged for six runs and seven hits.
The Pirates have dropped eight of their last nine games in St. Louis.
