Pirates and Cardinals Clash in a Battle of Mediocrity at Busch
Two teams hovering just below .500 meet at Busch Stadium on Sunday afternoon, and the margin between them is razor-thin — Pittsburgh sits at 66-71, St. Louis at 68-69. Neither club has separated itself from the pack, which makes this a genuinely consequential late-August game for both sides.
Matthew Liberatore is expected to take the mound for the Cardinals, while Braxton Ashcraft is set to start for Pittsburgh — a pitching matchup that puts a premium on what each offense can generate. On the Cardinals' side, the offensive engine is hard to ignore: Alec Burleson is hitting .288 and has driven in 99 runs on the season, making him one of the more quietly productive run-producers in the National League. Jordan Walker adds a legitimate power threat at 27 home runs, giving St. Louis a lineup that can hurt you in multiple ways. If Ashcraft struggles to locate early, this Cardinals offense has the personnel to make him pay.
Pittsburgh's attack is built differently. Nick Gonzales is hitting .307, giving the Pirates a legitimate on-base threat at the top of the order, while Brandon Lowe has been their most dangerous power bat — 28 home runs and 81 RBI on the season. Lowe's production is the kind of number that demands respect from opposing pitchers, and if Liberatore leaves anything over the plate, Lowe has demonstrated all year that he won't miss it. The Pirates' path to winning this game likely runs through those two bats finding their rhythm against a Cardinals left-hander.
Our model doesn't have a validated read on this one, so we're not going to manufacture conviction where there isn't any. What we can say is that the standings make this game matter — St. Louis holds a two-game edge on Pittsburgh, and the Cardinals are the home team at Busch Stadium. Both clubs are fighting to stay relevant in a season that hasn't gone according to plan. Expect a tight, low-margin game where the difference between winning and losing comes down to a single big swing — and both rosters have the hitters capable of delivering it.