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Pittsburgh Pirates face Cardinals in crucial 3-game set

By Jason Rollison

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Jun 30, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) pitches in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

In game two, Gerrit Cole will square off against Michael Wacha.

Wacha has been marvelous all year, sporting a 13-4 record with a 2.92 ERA. Wacha has never really been chased this year, with a minimum of 5 innings pitched in each of his starts. He is not untouchable by any means, but does sport a 1.08 WHIP (walks+hits/innings pitched) which is a great measure of his ability to get guys out. Wacha is not very overpowering, with 112 strikeouts on the year, but also has great control, as his 3.50 SO/W ratio indicates.

Here are Wacha’s numbers against current Pirates:

Name PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
Andrew McCutchen 16 15 5 1 0 0 0 1 3 .333 .375 .400 .775
Pedro Alvarez 15 12 1 0 0 1 2 3 4 .083 .267 .333 .600
Neil Walker 14 13 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 .154 .214 .154 .368
Starling Marte 11 11 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 .273 .273 .273 .545
Gregory Polanco 6 6 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 .333 .333 .500 .833
Aramis Ramirez 5 3 1 0 0 1 2 1 1 .333 .600 1.333 1.933
Francisco Cervelli 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 .333 .333 .667
Jung Ho Kang 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 .333 .333 .667
Mike Morse 3 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 .333 .333 .667 1.000
Chris Stewart 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 .500 1.000
Travis Ishikawa 1 1 1 0 0 1 3 0 0 1.000 1.000 4.000 5.000
Total 84 76 19 3 0 3 9 5 15 .250 .313 .408 .721

For his part, Cole still leads the NL in wins with 14, carrying a 2.85 ERA in his last six starts. Cole has shown excellent control recently, with a three-walk outing vs the Dodgers notwithstanding. In that same span, Cole has held opponents to a .278 on-base percentage.

Cole’s numbers against the Cardinals are listed below:

Name PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
Matt Carpenter 21 18 4 0 0 2 4 3 1 .222 .333 .556 .889
Yadier Molina 16 16 3 0 0 1 1 0 1 .188 .188 .375 .563
Jhonny Peralta 15 14 4 2 0 0 0 1 3 .286 .333 .429 .762
Kolten Wong 14 14 3 1 0 1 2 0 2 .214 .214 .500 .714
Jason Heyward 10 8 2 1 0 0 0 2 1 .250 .400 .375 .775
Mark Reynolds 7 7 2 1 0 1 1 0 2 .286 .286 .857 1.143
Brandon Moss 6 6 2 0 0 1 2 0 1 .333 .333 .833 1.167
Peter Bourjos 5 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 .200 .200 .400
Pete Kozma 5 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .200 .200 .200 .400
Randal Grichuk 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000
Total 108 102 23 5 0 6 10 6 19 .225 .269 .451 .719

Assuming he is healthy, Francisco Liriano closes out the series against right-hander Lance Lynn.

Next: Game three - Liriano vs Lynn

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