Bball's Series Preview: Pirates vs Cardinals(April 9-11, 2007)
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by user Timothy Moreland(Bball3345)
After entering Cincinnati 3-0, the undefeated Pittsburgh Pirates left town 4-2. They now come home to Pittsburgh to play the defending champs. The St. Louis Cardinals took 2 of 3 in Houston, but enter Pittsburgh with a 2-4 record.
The Pirates bats started to heat up at the end of the Cincinnati series. Big offseason acquisition Adam LaRoche hit his first home run of the year on Saturday and Jason Bay hit his second of the year on Sunday. The starting pitching was shaky in the first two games, but Zach Duke struck out 5 and walked no one to notch his first victory of the year.
The Cardinals won their series on the strength of their pitching. Last postseason's star reliever Adam Wainwright opened the series with a 7 inning, 1 run effort. Ex-Pirate Kip Wells won Game Three with 7 innings of one-hit ball. Albert Pujols, off to a slow start, homered for the first time Sunday, a welcome sign. Chris Duncan has hit .389 to carry the offense through Pujols' struggles. The Cardinals ended the Houston series on a high note with a 10-1 smackdown.
Games
| Game | Pirates Starter | 2007 Data | 2006 Data | Cardinals Starter | 2007 Data | 2006 Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ian Snell | 0-0, 3.00 ERA | 14-11, 4.74 ERA | Braden Looper | 0-1, 4.50 ERA | 9-3, 3.56 ERA |
| 2 | Tom Gorzelanny | 1-0, 3.60 ERA | 2-5, 3.79 ERA | TBA | ||
| 3 | Paul Maholm | 0-1, 7.20 ERA | 8-10, 4.76 ERA | Adam Wainwright | 1-0, 1.29 ERA | 2-1, 3.12 ERA |
What each team needs to do
The Pirates need to take advantage of the Cardinals starters. The ace, Chris Carpenter was scratched from his start. Looper and Wainwright were relievers last season, so the Pirates need to work their pitch counts. Wainwright was a starter in the minors, but neither Looper nor Wainwright had a major league start before this year. The Pirates will need to capitalize on this.
The Cardinals need to pitch around Jason Bay and challenge the rest of the lineup. Bay has gotten off to a slow start, but his offensive skills are far and away the best on the team. With LaRoche starting slow and Freddy Sanchez coming back from an injury, the Pirates don't have much firepower outside of Bay. The Cardinals can handle the rest of the Pirates lineup, so they can't let Bay hurt them.
Key Personnel
Pirates
Ian Snell - Snell pitches in the game the Pirates should win. Snell pitched like an ace in his first start, striking out 11 and walking only one. Looper is not proven as a starter, so the Pirates have the highest potential for scoring runs in this game. It is imperative that Snell has another strong start to kick off the series with a win for Pittsburgh.
Xavier Nady - With LaRoche and Bay struggling to get started early, Nady has come through with 2 home runs, 4 RBI, and 4 Runs, all team-leading totals. If LaRoche, Bay, and Freddy Sanchez hit like expected, Nady would give the Pirates a solid middle of the order. Some Pittsburgh fans called for "youngster" Brad Eldred to get the starting rightfield job over Nady but Nady's production has carried the Pirates offense in the early goings.
Cardinals
Albert Pujols - It seems obvious that the best player in the game would be a key to the series, but Pujols started the year 1-17. He bashed his way out of that slump with a 2-run homer before leaving Houston. Pujols' bat cannot fall back into a cold streak like that if St. Louis want to win this series. Looper and Carpenter's replacements are question marks at the moment, so the offense needs all the production it can muster up.
Jason Isringhausen - Isringhausen had a high, by his standards, ERA last season at 3.55. Izzy is 1-1 on save opportunites this year, but he allowed two hits and a run before recording the save. This games in this series will likely go down to the wire. The Cardinals need to shut the games down at the end. A shaky Isringhausen won't get the job done.
Injuries
Pirates
- John Grabow - Left elbow inflammation - on 15-day DL effective 3/23
Cardinals
- Juan Encarnacion - Recovery from left wrist surgery - on 15-day DL effective 3/28
- Mark Mulder - Recovery from left shoulder surgery - on 15-day DL effective 3/28
- Josh Kinney - Torn right elbow ligament - on 15-day DL effective 3/28(out for season)
Prediction
Pirates win the first game in a blowout. Then, they squeak by Carpenter's fill-in before dropping the last game to a dominant Wainwright. Pirates win the series 2-1.
