Game Preview: 5/6: Pirates vs. Cardinals

The Cardinals look to continue their good fortune against Paul Skenes

Well, the Cardinals are continuing their trend of being a good team at home. They just need to be not an awful team on the road. Good news though. The Cardinals are at home today. No need to worry if the road worries are fluky in tonight’s game. There are other worries to consider however, namely today we get to face Paul Skenes. The Cardinals have given Skenes three of his six career losses and they hope to give him a fourth tonight. Going up against him is performing-like-an-ace Matthew Liberatore.

How to watch: FanDuel Sports Midwest

How to listen: KMOX 1120 AM/104.1 FM

First Pitch: 6:40 PM CST

Matchup:

STL: Matthew Liberatore (3.44 ERA/2.32 FIP/2.90 xFIP)

vs.

Paul Skenes (2.74 ERA/2.99 FIP/3.00 xFIP)

Players to Watch

STL: Alec Burleson: Burleson has taken a lot of flack for his powerless start and it’s been mostly deserved. He didn’t get a barrell until almost May and still has just a .274 xwOBA on the year. However, he seems to be heating up, hitting two homers in the past four games. And he just seems to be hitting it harder lately in general. Also Burleson is 5 for 12 in his career off Skenes. They were all admittedly singles, but considering how the rest of the league does against Skenes, Burleson has a leg up.

PIT: Alexander Canario: The 25-year-old outfielder came up through the Cubs’ system, but they didn’t have any room for him, so he hopped through a couple teams who claimed him off waivers until he stuck with the Pirates. He’s gotten off to a slow start with a .132 average, however he’s been incredibly unlucky. His xwOBA is .391, which likely means a potential homer or two failed to leave a pitcher’s park.