Cards at Pirates
Pittsburgh, PA – Adam Wainwright’s success on the road is a big reason he’s among the winningest pitchers in the NL.
The right-hander tries for a sixth consecutive road victory as the St. Louis Cardinals look to hand the Pittsburgh Pirates a seventh straight loss Saturday night.
After going 11-6 with a 3.86 ERA in 24 road starts over the previous two seasons, Wainwright is 8-1 with a 3.61 ERA in 10 away from Busch Stadium in 2009.
Wainwright (12-7, 2.79), who’s only road loss came to San Francisco on May 31, threw an eight-hitter in a 4-1 win at Washington on July 23 in his last road start.
"I try to take the ball and carry my team (for) 27 outs," Wainwright told the Cardinals’ official Web site. "When they take the ball from me, that’s when I will give it to them."
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made the Cardinals -210 moneyline favorites for Saturday’s game against the Pirates. Current MLB Public Betting Information shows that 65% of more than 146 bets for this game have been placed on the Cardinals -210.
Wainwright, 4-2 with a 1.35 ERA in his last seven starts overall, allowed two runs in seven innings of a 2-0 loss to Houston on Sunday.
He is 3-2 with a 4.84 ERA in eight starts against the Pirates. Wainwright allowed two runs in 5 1-3 innings and did not get a decision in a 6-4 loss at Pittsburgh on April 6.
The Cardinals (60-51) try for a third straight victory over the Pirates after rallying from a two-run deficit to win 6-4 in Friday’s series opener. Albert Pujols had three hits and Matt Holliday hit a two-run homer for St. Louis, which has won seven of 10.
Holliday, who stole second and scored on Ryan Ludwick’s sacrifice fly to break a tie in the eighth, is hitting .460 with four home runs and 13 RBIs in 13 games since being acquired from Oakland.
"He’s a complete player," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "He gets an infield single, he steals second, there’s an error on the throw and a short sacrifice fly. Not many guys who hit with his production give you that other dimension."
Pujols is 9 for 13 in his last three games after going 1 for 13 in his previous four. A lifetime .369 hitter against the Pirates (45-64), Pujols is batting .459 in 10 games against them this season.
He is 2 for 2 against Pittsburgh’s scheduled starter Charlie Morton (2-4, 4.03), who is 0-2 with a 21.60 ERA in two appearances against St. Louis – both last season while with Atlanta.
The right-hander looks to avoid a third straight defeat after giving up four runs in six innings of an 8-4 loss to Washington on Monday.
"This kid just needs experience and needs to learn how to use his stuff," manager John Russell told the Pirates’ official Web site. "He’s going to grow and get better."
Garrett Jones and Ryan Doumit each homered Friday for Pittsburgh, which has lost 11 of 13. The Pirates have been outscored 27-4 from the seventh inning on while going 2-6 on a 10-game homestand.
"We have to go out there … and win," pitcher Paul Maholm said. "We’ve lost six in a row; we should’ve won five of them."
Jones, the NL rookie of the month for July, has homered in two of his last three games.
Posted: 8/8/09 6:00AM ET
