PITTSBURGH PIRATES NOTES:
THE PIRATES:…have been shut out twice in their last three games…Are off to their best start since going 10-4 in their first 14 games of the 2018 season…Won in walkoff fashion for the first time this season Tuesday night…Won a season-high four straight games from 4/3-7…Have not lost back-to-back games since dropping the final two contests of their season-opening series in Cincinnati.
ROSTER MOVE: Prior to today’s game, the Pirates placed infielder Ji Man Choi on the 10-injured list (retro to April 14) with a strain of the left Achilles tendon…Infielder Tucupita Marcano has been recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis…The 23-yearold Marcano was hitting .422 (19-for-45) with seven doubles, one triple, one home run, 10 RBI, .458 OBP, .689 slugging percentage and 1.147 OPS in 11 games with Indianapolis at the time of his promotion to the big leagues…Coming into today, Marcano ranked third in the International League in batting, tied for first in hits and doubles, tied for fourth in extra base hits (nine) and tied for seventh in total bases (31).
ABOUT TODAY’S STARTER: Roansy Contreras will make his third start of the season this afternoon here at Busch Stadium…Contreras earned a win in his season debut after allowing one run in 5.2 innings against the Red Sox at Fenway Park on April 4…Beginning with his outing on July 7 at Cincinnati, Contreras is 3-1 with a 3.49 ERA (28.1ip/11er) in his last six starting assignments on the road (the Pirates are also 5-1 in those games)…His only loss during the stretch came on September 21 at Yankee Stadium.
ABOUT RO: Roansy Contreras ranked fifth among all National League rookies in ERA (3.89) and strikeouts (86) and third in batting average against (.225) in 2022…He also posted the seventh-lowest ERA (3.53) among all rookies in MLB with at least 50.0 innings pitched beginning with his start on July 7 through the end of the season while his .202 batting average against in that time ranked third among MLB rookies with at least 50.0 innings of work.
GETTING STRETCHED OUT: Pittsburgh’s starters have worked at least 6.0 innings in each of the last four games…Last year the starting staff went four straight games with least 6.0 innings worked once from July 23-26…The starting staff has recorded a 1.80 ERA (25.0ip/5er) during this current four-game stretch…The starting rotation’s 73.1 innings pitched are tied for the fourth-most among all NL teams behind the Padres (81.1ip), Dodgers (77.2ip) and Brewers (77.1ip).
AND THE WHIFF: Johan Oviedo became the first Pirate to record a double digit strikeout game this season with his career-best 10-strikeout performance Friday night…Three Pirates recorded 10-strikeout games in 2022 (the last to do it was Roansy Contreras on September 21 at Yankee Stadium)…The last Pirate to record at least 10 punchouts against the Cardinals was Joe Musgrove, who had 11 on September 20, 2020.
ZEROING IN: Johan Oviedo’s scoreless streak ended at 15.1 innings Friday night after allowing his only run of the game in the sixth inning…Oviedo’s streak of 15.1 innings is the longest scoreless streak in MLB this season…The second-longest scoreless streak in MLB in the early portion of the season belongs to St. Louis’ Jordan Montgomery (15.0ip).
HONORING JACKIE: In conjunction with MLB’s league-wide celebration commemorating the 76th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier and the 50th anniversary of the Jackie Robinson Foundation, players and coaches will continue the tradition of wearing blue “42” jersey numbers today.
HEATING UP: Rodolfo Castro reached base safely twice in four plate appearances Friday after singling in his first at-bat and drawing a walk in the sixth inning…Castro has now hit safely in four straight and five of his last six games, going 7-for-15 with a double, home run and 1.370 OPS.
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.
PROVIDING RELIEF: Pittsburgh’s bullpen enters today ranked fifth among National League teams with a 3.81 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, Brewers and Mariners…The only team to allow fewer home runs out of the bullpen are the Rangers (two).
PIRATING: The Pirates enter today second in the National League and tied for fourth in all of MLB with 16 stolen bases.. The only three teams in all of MLB with more stolen bases are the Guardians (21), Orioles (21) and Diamondbacks (18).
STARTING PITCHER – 59 – RHP ROANSY CONTRERA
ROANSY CONTRERAS: The 23-year-old righthander is making his third start of the season today…Lost an 8-2 decision (3.1ip/7er) at home against the Astros in his last start.
vs. ST. LOUIS: 1-0 in four appearances (three starts) last year…He allowed two runs on two hits in 1.2 innings in his season debut on 4/9 at Busch, started and had a no-decision in a 6-4 win at Busch on 6/15, allowed one run in 5.1 innings while winning an 8-2 decision at PNC Park on 9/9, and had a no-decision in his start at Busch on 10/2.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:
RECENT REDBIRDS: The defending National League Central Division Champion St. Louis Cardinals and division rival Pittsburgh Pirates play the third game of a four-game series today at Busch Stadium … The Arizona Diamondbacks make their annual visit to St. Louis on Monday for three games … Last night’s win moved the Cardinals to 4-1 in the second game of series this season after starting 0-5 in series openers.
NOOT NEWS: The Cardinals today activated Lars Nootbaar from the 10-Day Injured List and optioned 1B/OF Juan Yepez to Memphis (AAA) following last night’s game … Nootbaar missed the previous 13 games after jamming his left thumb while sliding into third base on Opening Day.
100: Oliver Marmol is closing in on his 100th career win as Cardinals manager, going 99-77 over his first 176 games … A win today would make Marmol the:
• 8th-fastest Cardinals manager to reach 100 wins in terms of games
• 11th MLB manager in the Expansion Era (1961-present) and 93rd overall in MLB history to win his 100th game before his 37th birthday
• 52nd manager all-time to reach 100 wins with a winning record before age 37 and first since Sparky Anderson (age 36.216, 100-59 record) in 1970.
• 3rd Cardinals manager to reach 100 wins with a winning record before age 37, joining player managers Rogers Hornsby (age 30.057, 100-79 record) in 1926 and Frankie Frisch (age 36.341, 100-72 record) in 1934.
SHIVER ME TIMBERS: Oliver Marmol’s first career win as Cardinals manager was April 7, 2022 in a 9-0 shutout win over the Buccos on Opening Day, and since Oli became skipper in 2022, his clubs have beaten Pittsburgh (14) more than any other team.
10 YEARS FOR ARENADO: Congratulations to Nolan Arenado for reaching 10.000 years of Major League service time today … Since making his MLB
debut on April 28, 2013 with the Rockies, the 2nd round pick from El Toro High School has made seven NL All-Star teams while earning 10 consecutive Gold Gloves, six Platinum Gloves, and five Silver Sluggers.
SATURDAY IN THE PARK: The Cardinals (2-0) are one of seven MLB teams to be undefeated on Saturday this season … Last season, St. Louis was an MLB-best 21-7 (.750) on Saturday, including a 12-3 mark at home while wearing their Saturday cream uniforms.
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: St. Louis owns MLB’s best overall win pct. against the Pirates (.590, 108-75) dating back to 2013 when the two teams squared off in the Division Series.
STREAKING WITH GOLDY: Paul Goldschmidt has reached base safely in all 14 games this season, tied with two others for MLB’s 2nd-longest active on-base streak behind Xander Bogaerts (15) … Goldschmidt, who ranks among MLB leaders in on-base percentage (.460, 10th) and times on base (29, T-4th), 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.
BURLY BALL: Rookie Alec Burleson has hit safely in a career best nine consecutive games (.324, 11-34) sice April 2, T-4th longest active hitting streak in MLB … Among rookies this season, only Jordan Walker (12 games) has recorded a longer hitting streak.
ZEROS TO HEROES: St. Louis is 2-0 in games following shutouts (12-4 last season) … Twice this season the Cardinals have been shut out and then blanked the same opponent the following game: April 7-8 (L 4-0 & W 6-0 at Milwaukee) and April 13-14 (L 5-0 & W 3-0 vs. Pirates).
MAYBE IT’S A SIGN: The last time the Cardinals sported a 3-5 record in their first eight home games was 2011.
THIS DATE IN CARDINALS HISTORY (April 15, 2016): The Cardinals set a Busch Stadium III record with six home runs in a 14-3 win over the visiting Cincinnati Reds on Jackie Robinson Day … 12 of 13 runs came from blasts by Matt Holliday (twice) Aledmys Díaz, Randal Grichuk, Brandon Moss, and Matt Adams.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: LHP STEVEN MATZ (0-2, 8.18)
TODAY’S GAME
• Makes his 159th career appearance (149th start) and 13th start as a Cardinal.
• Is seeking his 1st win as a starter at Busch Stadium since May 2, 2022 vs. Kansas City.
• Missed 102 games on the Injured List with a left shoulder impingement (5/23-7/16) and strained left knee (7/24-9/16). Was activated from his second stint in mid-September and was added to the bullpen where he made five appearances.
• Prior to the 7/23/22 start at Cincinnati, Matz had missed approx. two months with a left shoulder impingement.
• Ranks 3rd in MLB in Pitch Tempo with bases empty (11.5 sec/pitch) and 5th with runners on base (14.8 sec/pitch), leading all Cardinals.
• Has yet to allow a hit (0-for-8) against opposing left-handed batters to begin the season.
• His lifetime .619 winning percentage (13-8) in the month of April ranks 7th among active pitchers with 20 or more career April decisions. San Diego’s Michael Wacha leads the list at .778 (21-6).
• Ranks 14th among active MLB left-handed pitchers with 8.68 SO/9 IP (min. 700 IP).
• St. Louis is his third MLB organization, entering his second Cardinals season with a 50-52 record and 4.32 ERA in career 157 games (147 starts) while pitching for the New York Mets (2015-20), Toronto Blue Jays (2021) and St. Louis (2022-23).
• Went 2-0, 1.53 ERA in four Grapefruit League appearances (three starts).
LAST TIME OUT
• Logged 5.2 IP in his start last Mon. (4/10) at Coors Field, but was dinged for 6 runs on 9 hits and suffered his 2nd-straight loss, losing 7-4 to the Rockies.
DATE vs. RESULT DEC IP H R ER BB SO HR NP-S
4/10 @COL L 7-4 L-2 5.2 9 6 6 2 4 0 92-60
CAREER
• Joined the Cardinals on a four-year contract (2022-25) after previously pitching for the New York Mets (2015-20) and Toronto Blue Jays (2021) organizations.
• In 2021, tied for the American League lead with 14 wins among left-handed pitchers.
• Since 2021, his 19 total wins rank T-10th among MLB left-handers, with Julio Urias (37) leading the list.
• Has landed on the Injured List 11 times over his Major League career, missing time in every season except for 2021 in which he missed time for a positive COVID-19 test.
• Also missed the 2010 and 2011 minor league seasons after undergoing Tommy John ligament replacement surgery.
• His one career complete game shutout is also a “Maddux” where he threw 99 pitches on July 27, 2019 vs. Pittsburgh.
• Finished 6th in the 2016 NL Rookie of the Year voting, going 9-8 with a 3.40 ERA, and 1.21 WHIP in 22 starts.
