Cardinals vs Pirates NL Central Battle | Pittsburgh Pirates News

Baseball’s tightest race in the NL Central heats up this Friday as the St. Louis Cardinals host the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-game series — both teams battling for playoff positioning with nearly identical records. The Cardinals hold a slight edge in the season series and at home, while the Pirates thrive when they score five or more runs. Pitching matchups pit rookie Jared Jones (5-2, 4.76 ERA) against Quinn Mathews (0-2, 6.43 ERA), who’s still searching for his first win. Recent form shows the Cardinals struggling (3-7 in last 10), while the Pirates are splitting games evenly (5-5) and pitching more effectively. Injuries loom on both sides — Masyn Winn and Peter Strzelecki sidelined for St. Louis, Endy Rodriguez and Mitch Keller missing for Pittsburgh — making this weekend’s outcome anything but predictable. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/23f8f99e9564a049