=== Pittsburgh Pirates Team Report - July 25 === (My Sportsbook) - The Pittsburgh Pirates try for their third straight win tonight when they start a four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Pittsburgh comes into Friday's series-opener after sweeping the Cincinnati Reds in a two-game series that culminated with Thursday's 7-5 win in 11 innings. Matt Stairs smacked an RBI double during a two-run 11th to lead the Pirates to the win. Stairs ended 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Brian Giles drove in two runs for the Pirates, have won four of their last five games. Mike Lincoln (1-0) was the winner after he threw two innings and allowed only one hit. Jeff D'Amico started and yielded four runs -- one earned -- on seven hits in six innings, while striking out three and walking two. The Pirates will pin their hopes on righthander Kip Wells, who is 4-4 on the season with a 3.53 ERA, but is coming off back-to-back wins. In his last start the 26-year-old hurler was sensational, scattering eight hits and an unearned run over seven innings in beating the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday. He has faced the Cards once this season and came away with the victory after allowing two runs and three hits over five frames back on May 31. For his career, Wells is 2-3 against St. Louis with a 5.16 ERA in five starts. These teams have split the six matchups this season, but Pittsburgh has been dominated the Cards in recent years, going 16-36 against them since the beginning of the 2000 season. The Pirates have posted a 24-24 mark on the road. |
