St. Louis Cardinals fall in series to Pittsburgh Pirates

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The St. Louis Cardinals fell in the series against the Pittsburgh Pirates this past weekend. The Cardinals took Saturday’s game while the Pittsburgh Pirates took Friday night and Sunday afternoon.
Apr 6, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter (13) receives high-fives in the dugout after scoring a run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the sixth inning at PNC Park. The Pirates won 2-1. Image Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
It’s still early in the season so this doesn’t mean that Pittsburgh will have the Cardinals’ number all season long. What should be noticed and taken into account during future games this season is that the Pirates own Cardinals pitcher Shelby Miller. In five starts, the Texas native is 0-5 with a 5.93 ERA. Friday night’s start was no exception as Miller departed in the 6th inning after allowing five runs on six hits. In Miller’s three career starts at PNC Park, he owns a career record of 0-3 with a 6.89 ERA.

One of the few highlights from the Friday game of the series was Matt Carpenter‘s 2-run home run.

Keith Butler, who won the final bullpen spot with the absence of Jason Motte, did not have a great outing on Friday as he allowed five runs on five hits.

With Joe Kelly pitching on Saturday, the Cardinals won 6-1 over the Pirates.

Carpenter had another impressive day on Saturday, reaching twice on a walk and once on a hit. He scored twice on the night. Shortstop Jhonny Peralta and catcher Yadier Molina both hit their second home runs of the season to power Joe Kelly towards his first win of the young season.

Adam Wainwright started on Sunday as the Cardinals fell 2-1 and lost the series. Wainwright lacked the run support in the game as he struck out seven batters. The Cardinals were limited to one run on three hits with the only run coming as Carpenter scored on an Jon Jay triple.

Peter Bourjos, like Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton, is struggling to hit the ball this season. I think he is adding too much pressure to himself to hit the ball. He’ll start hitting in due time.