PITTSBURGH PIRATES NOTES:
THE PIRATES:…shut out the Cardinals 5-0 in the opener of their four-game series and seven-game road trip…Are off to their best start since going 9-4 in their first 13 games of the 2018 season…Won in walkoff fashion for the first time this season Tuesday night…Have won seven of their last 10 games…Won a season-high four straight games from 4/3-7…Have not lost back-to-back games since dropping the final two games of their season-opening series in Cincinnati.
ROSTER MOVES: Prior to tonight’s game, the Pirates activated catcher Austin Hedges from the concussion injured list… Catcher Tyler Heineman has been optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis to make room for Hedges on the active roster…In addition, right-handed pitcher Chase De Jong has been placed on the 15-day injured list (retro to April 13) with a lumbar spine muscle strain…Right-handed pitcher Robert Stephenson (right elbow inflammation) has completed his rehab assignment with Indianapolis and has been reinstated from the 15-day injured list…Stephenson will wear uniform No. 43… Stephenson made four relief appearances (3.1ip/5h/3r/3er/5bb/6so) on rehab with Indianapolis.
ABOUT TONIGHT’S STARTER: Johan Oviedo will face the Cardinals for the third time tonight since being acquired by the Pirates last year on August 2 along with infielder Malcom Nuñez…Oviedo has a 1-4 record and 3.67 ERA (54.0ip/22er) in 15 career appearances (eight starts) at Busch Stadium…Since allowing five runs in 4.0 innings of relief against the Pirates on June 27, 2021, Oviedo has a 2.66 ERA (20.1ip/6er) in eight appearances (two starts) at Busch.
HERE’S THE LINE ON OVIEDO: Johan Oviedo brings a scoreless streak of 10.1 innings into tonight’s start, which is the fourth-longest active streak in MLB…The only three pitchers with longer active scoreless streaks coming into today are Drew Rasmussen (13.0ip), Bryce Elder (12.1ip) and Shohei Ohtani (12.0ip).
LAST TIME OUT: Johan Oviedo earned his first win of the season in his last start on Sunday against the White Sox at PNC Park…Oviedo scattered five hits in 6.2 innings in the 1-0 win…Since making his Pirates debut on September 2, he has gone 3-2 with a 3.21 ERA (42.0ip/15er) in nine starts.
BUCCO BLANKINGS: The Pirates have recorded two shutouts this year…That’s tied with the Cubs for second in the National League (the Brewers lead with three)…The last time Pittsburgh recorded two shutouts within the team’s first 13 games of the season came in 2019 after recording three within the first six games.
CANNONBALLS COMING: Pittsburgh is tied for fourth in the National League with 17 home runs through the first 13 games of the season (the Dodgers lead with 24)…Last year the Bucs didn’t hit their 17th home run until the team’s 26th game on May 7 at Cincinnati in the second game of a doubleheader…It’s the most home runs for the Bucs through the first 13 games of the season since 2018 (18 in the first 13 games).
THE DRIVE FOR FIVE: The Pirates bring a four-game road winning streak into today (the Bucs had two four-game road winning streaks last year)…The last time Pittsburgh won five straight games on the road came from August 29 to September 9, 2019.
MAKE THAT A DOUBLE: Andrew McCutchen is one double shy of tying Dave Parker for the seventh-most doubles (296) in team history (Thursday night McCutchen moved past Bill Mazeroski into sole possession of eighth place for career doubles in Pirates history)…McCutchen’s 395 career doubles are also the fourth-most among active players, trailing only Miguel Cabrera (610), Joey Votto (453), Evan Longoria (424) and Freddie Freeman (418).
CARLOS SANTANA’S HITS: Carlos Santana went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, walk and RBI Thursday night…Since April 5, Santana is hitting .345 (10-for-29) with five doubles, two home runs, six RBI and a 1.148 OPS.
AGAINST THE CARDS: Bryan Reynolds has gone deep twice in his last five games at Busch Stadium and has hit safely in 14 of his last 19 games here…Jack Suwinski has hit safely in eight of his last nine games against the Cards, going 11-for-23 (.393) with three home runs (Suwinski homered four times in 16 games as a rookie last year vs. St. Louis)… Ji Hwan Bae hit safely in five of his six games against the Cardinals last year, going 8-for-20 (.400)…Andrew McCutchen has recorded has recorded 83 hits at Busch Stadium III, which are the second-most among active visiting players behind Joey Votto (112).
PROVIDING RELIEF: Pittsburgh’s bullpen enters today ranked third among National League teams (ninth in MLB) with a 3.51 ERA…Pirates relievers have also surrendered a total of three home runs this year, which is tied for the second-fewest in MLB along with the Red Sox, Angels, Brewers and Mariners…The only team to allow fewer home runs out of the bullpen are the Rangers (two).
24 – RHP JOHAN OVIEDO
vs. ST. LOUIS: 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA (10.0ip/4er) in two starts…He allowed two runs in 6.0 innings, losing a 2-1 decision in his start on 9/30/22 at Busch Stadium…He also allowed three runs (two earned) across 4.0 innings of work and had a no-decision at PNC Park on 10/5/22.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:
RECENT REDBIRDS: The defending NL Central Division Champion St. Louis Cardinals and division rival Pittsburgh Pirates play the second game of a four-game series tonight at Busch Stadium … The Arizona Diamondbacks make their annual visit to St. Louis on Monday for three games … After last night’s game, the Cardinals fell to 0-5 in series openers (0-3 at home) this season.
AHOY, MATEY: St. Louis has won the season series over Pittsburgh for nine consecutive seasons (2014-22) and 20 times in the last 23 years since 2000 (excluding 2008, 2012, 2013).
BURIED TREASURE: Although dropping four of its last five to the Buccos, St. Louis owns MLB’s best overall win pct. against the Pirates (.588, 107-75) dating back to 2013 when the two teams squared off in the Division Series.
ARRRRRRRRRRRGH: For the first time in a series since April 1, 2019, the Cardinals have a worse overall record than Pittsburgh in head-to-head
matchups … The last time St. Louis played Pittsburgh where the Pirates had a better record through at least 13 games played was Aug. 4, 2018
(Cardinals 56-54; Pirates 57-53).
NADO CYCLE: The Cardinals are giving away 25,000 Nolan Arenado Cycle Bobbleheads to fans tonight in celebration of his cycle last season on July 1 at Philadelphia, the 2nd of his career and 17th by a Cardinal in franchise history … Arenado tripled in the first inning, belted a two-run homer in the third, doubled in the 6th, and hit an infield single to third base in the 8th.
MORE CYCLE NOTES: Prior to Arenado, Mark Grudzielanek (April 27, 2005 vs. Milwaukee at Busch Stadium II) was the last Cardinal to cycle and
still is the last player (home or visiting) to hit for the cycle in the city of St. Louis … Pittsburgh’s Daryle Ward (May 26, 2004 at Busch II) is the last opposing player to cycle in St. Louis … Busch Stadium III (2006-present) has yet to witness a cycle.
STREAKING WITH GOLDY: Paul Goldschmidt has reached base safely in all 13 games this season, tied with four others for MLB’s 2nd-longest active on-base streak Xander Bogaerts (14) this season … Goldschmidt, who ranks among MLB leaders in on-base percentage (.475, T-6th) and times
on base (28, T-3rd), has compiled 52 double-digit on-base streaks in his career, highlighted by his career-best 46-gamer last season … Goldy’s longest on-base streak to begin a season is 15 games in 2013.
NOOT NEWS: OF Lars Nootbaar began an injury rehab assignment with Springfield (AA) last night at Arkansas (AA-Mariners), going 0-for-5 with one RBI and two strikeouts while seeing 15 pitches … Nootbaar has missed the previous 12 games since jamming his left thumb while sliding into third base on Opening Day.
ZEROS TO HEROES: St. Louis was 12-4 in games following goose eggs last season and won the following day after its first shutout this season in Milwaukee.
MAYBE IT’S A SIGN: The last time the Cardinals sported a 2-5 record in their first seven home games was 2011.
WALKER’S HISTORIC HITTING STREAK ENDS: Rookie Jordan Walker snapped his historic 12-game hitting streak to begin his career last night, a Cardinals rookie record and tied for the 6th-longest all-time by any player to begin a MLB career … At age 20, Walker also matched Philadelphia Athletics outfielder Eddie Murphy’s 111-year-old record, of hitting safely in each of his first 12 games in 1912 at age 20.
OFF THE BAT: According to Baseball Savant, St. Louis leads MLB in hard hit balls of 95+mph (160) and ranks 3rd in average exit velocity (90.5 mph) … Paul Goldschmidt is 5th in MLB in hard hit balls (23) and 8th in average exit velo (95.6), while Alec Burleson ranks 3rd among MLB rooks in average exit velo (93.2).
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP JAKE WOODFORD (0-2, 9.00)
TONIGHT’S GAME
NL Ranks: HR Allowed (4, T-4th)
• Today’s start marks his 3rd of the season (13th career) and 68th career appearance. • Makes his first career start vs. PIT after eight relief appearances. The Pirates are his 9th different opponent to make a start against with the Cubs as his most with four.
• Earned his first Major League win against the Pirates on Sept. 19, 2020, coming on in relief of Kwang Hyun Kim. Threw two-thirds of an inning and inherited the win.
• Seven of his 12 career starts have come against N.L. Central opponents, posting a 3-3 record with a 3.25 ERA. Has not allowed more than three runs in any of those seven starts.
• Career 3-5 with 4.64 ERA (54.1 IP/28 ER) in 12 career starts with the Cardinals going 7-5 in those games.
• Ranks 6th among MLB pitchers in Avg Vertical Movement on the curveball (7.7 in.).
• Had a strong Grapefruit League season, going 1-0 with a 2.04 ERA in 5 games (2 starts). He led the pitching staff with 18 strikeouts in his 17.2 IP.
LAST TIME OUT
• Allowed three runs over 4.2 innings, all coming off hits by Willy Adames on a two-RBI double and a solo home run. Struck out a season-high five in his second loss, a 6-1 decision at Milwaukee.
DATE vs. RESULT DEC IP H R ER BB SO HR NP-S
4/9 @MIL L 6-1 L-1 4.2 6 3 3 1 5 1 87-57
CAREER
• Former first round selection out of high school made his Major League debut in 2020 in the second game of a doubleheader after the Cardinals returned from a 17-day absence from playing due to a COVID breakout. Has pitched as both a starter and out of the bullpen.
• Switched uniform number from No. 40 to No. 44 prior to the 2023 season to allow Willson Contreras to wear the same number he had since the start of his career with the Chicago Cubs in 2016.
• Finished the 2022 season on an 11.1-inning scoreless streak, winning each of his last four decisions.
• Since his MLB debut in 2020, ranks 4th in MLB in GIDP/9 IP (1.34), trailing teammates Dakota Hudson (1.44) and Andre Pallante (1.37) – min. 100 IP.
• Has career marks of 3-4 with a 4.53 ERA in 11 career Major League starts (49.2 IP) and 5-1 with a 3.53 ERA in 55 relief appearances (91.2 IP).
• Ranked in the Top 15 among MLB pitchers in average of vertical movement on his curveball each of the last three seasons at 14th in 2020 (6.3 inches), 11th in 2021 (7.2 inches) and 10th in 2022 (8.0 inches). Baseball Savant.
2023
• Allowed career-highs with six runs and three home runs, while matching his career-high with seven hits in his first start of the season, an 8-4 loss to ATL (4/3) at Busch Stadium. Surrendered a 473-foot home run to Austin Riley, the 2nd-longest by an opposing play at Busch Stadium in the 1st inning.
• Was hit for three runs over 4.2 innings in his second start of the season at MIL (4/9). All three runs were knocked in by Willy Adames on a two-RBI double and a solo home run.
