Pirates take on the Cardinals looking to stop road skid

Pittsburgh Pirates (71-81, fifth in the NL Central) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (77-75, third in the NL Central)

St. Louis; Thursday, 7:15 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Luis Ortiz (6-6, 3.45 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 95 strikeouts); Cardinals: Erick Fedde (8-9, 3.45 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 141 strikeouts)

BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates hit the road against the St. Louis Cardinals looking to break a four-game road skid.

St. Louis is 77-75 overall and 42-35 in home games. The Cardinals have gone 45-12 in games when they scored five or more runs.

Pittsburgh is 71-81 overall and 33-41 on the road. The Pirates have a 49-18 record in games when they out-hit their opponents.

The teams play Thursday for the 13th time this season. The Cardinals lead the season series 8-4.

TOP PERFORMERS: Nolan Arenado has 22 doubles and 16 home runs for the Cardinals. Pedro Pages is 8-for-34 with three home runs over the past 10 games.

Bryan Reynolds is second on the Pirates with 54 extra base hits (29 doubles, three triples and 22 home runs). Andrew McCutchen is 8-for-36 with three doubles, two home runs and five RBI over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 5-5, .243 batting average, 3.03 ERA, outscored opponents by one run

Pirates: 5-5, .249 batting average, 3.83 ERA, outscored by 10 runs

INJURIES: Cardinals: Lance Lynn: 15-Day IL (knee), Willson Contreras: 10-Day IL (finger), Keynan Middleton: 60-Day IL (forearm), Drew Rom: 60-Day IL (biceps)

Pirates: Kyle Nicolas: 15-Day IL (oblique ), Ben Heller: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Henry Davis: 10-Day IL (hand), Hunter Stratton: 60-Day IL (patella), Ke'Bryan Hayes: 10-Day IL (herniated disc), Marco Gonzales: 60-Day IL (forearm), Daulton Jefferies: 60-Day IL (elbow), Dauri Moreta: 60-Day IL (elbow), Endy Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.