Here are the lineups for the Pirates and Cardinals this afternoon at PNC Park. Thoughts are below:
Pirates
1. Starling Marte, LF
2. Neil Walker, 2B
3. Andrew McCutchen, CF
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Marlon Byrd, RF
6. Pedro Alvarez, 3B
7. Russell Martin, C
8. Clint Barmes, SS
9. Charlie Morton, SP
Cardinals
1. Matt Carpenter, 2B
2. Carlos Beltran, RF
3. Matt Holliday, LF
4. Matt Adams, 1B
5. Yadier Molina, C
6. Jon Jay, CF
7. David Freese, 3B
8. Pete Kozma, SS
9. Michael Wacha, SP
The Pirates stick with the same lineup as yesterday. The only spot that has changed in the playoffs has been the shortstop position. I like Clint Barmes today with Charlie Morton on the mound. Morton generates more ground balls than any pitcher in baseball, which means you should be prioritizing defense at short.
Morton struggles against left-handers, and the Cardinals have a lot of them with Matt Carpenter, Carlos Beltran, Matt Adams, and Jon Jay capable of doing damage. It will be hard for Morton to pitch around any of those guys, which will make this game interesting.
On the flip side, the Pirates struggled the last time they faced Michael Wacha. However, they didn’t have Starling Marte or Russell Martin in the lineup, and a lot of other players who were in both lineups were struggling during that last start. So even though Wacha had success against the Pirates, we don’t know how this lineup will do, especially with several hot hitters as of late.
