St. Louis at Pittsburgh

The path to the playoffs for the five teams in the NL Central is through the Division Championship, and right now their are four teams still in contention, all within 5.5 games of each other. The Pirates are the one that sits 5.5 games behind the Cubs, so this becomes a crucial series for them vs. their division rival St. Louis Cardinals. The Pirates have won four of the last seven meetings this season. Carlos Marttinez has the Cardinals at just 12-12 in his 24 starts and has struggled in his last 10 at just 4-6. Matrinez has lost his only start vs. the Pirates this season. That loss was vs. Trevor Williams, who will be tonight's starter for the Pirates, and he has won two of his last three home starts. This is a good opportunity for the Pirates to take the next step. Play on Pittsburgh.