Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes will take the mound against St. Louis Cardinals veteran Sonny Gray in a compelling pitching matchup on Tuesday night at PNC Park. The Pittsburgh Pirates (4-7) will look to extend their winning streak to three games after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 8-4 on Monday, while St. Louis (4-6) hopes to snap a four-game losing skid. The first pitch is scheduled for April 8, 2025 at 6:40 PM ET as the National League Central rivals continue their three-game series in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Pirates look to build momentum behind rookie sensation Skenes
The Pittsburgh Pirates will send their prized young right-hander, Paul Skenes to the mound for his third start of the 2025 season. Skenes, last year's National League Rookie of the Year, has been impressive in his early outings, posting a 1-0 record with a stellar 1.46 ERA. In his last start on April 2 against the Tampa Bay Rays, Skenes dominated through seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits while striking out six and walking none.
Despite his early career success, Skenes is still searching for his first career victory against the St. Louis Cardinals. The 23-year-old has gone 0-2 with a 1.31 ERA in three previous starts against St. Louis.
"Mr. Nutting and (manager Derek Shelton) aren't the ones playing," Skenes told ESPN recently, referring to fan frustration with the Pittsburgh Pirates' slow start. "We're the ones playing. If we were 8-0 However many games we've played right now, the fans aren't booing. We've got to play better."
The Pittsburgh Pirates have won their last two games, including Monday's series opener where they scored a season-high eight runs. Joey Bart went 2-for-4 with a triple, home run and two RBIs in the victory, while Andrew McCutchen and Isiah Kiner-Falefa also drove in two runs apiece.
St. Louis Cardinals counter with veteran Gray amid four-game losing streak
The St. Louis Cardinals will counter with veteran right-hander Sonny Gray, who has experienced mixed results in his first two starts of the 2025 campaign. Gray enters with a 1-0 record and 5.73 ERA, having struck out an impressive 15 batters in just 11 innings pitched. In his most recent outing on April 2 against the Los Angeles Angels, Gray allowed five earned runs on five hits over six innings while recording nine strikeouts and no walks.
"This is the worst type of day when you feel amazing and the ball is coming out the way you want it to do, you feel dominant for one inning and then you go to have a shutdown and four hits later, you give up four runs," Gray said after his last start.
Despite their current four-game losing streak, the St. Louis Cardinals boast one of baseball's most potent offenses. St. Louis leads the majors with a 0.297 team batting average and ranks second with 6.6 runs per game. Brendan Donovan has been particularly hot, batting 0.375 on the season and collecting three hits in Monday's loss. The team might be without third baseman Nolan Arenado, however, as he's listed as day-to-day with an illness.
The St. Louis Cardinals' pitching staff has struggled mightily, posting a league-worst 6.29 ERA through their first ten games of the season.
Also Read: Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Paul Skenes named National League Rookie of the Year
Pittsburgh Pirates look to build momentum behind rookie sensation Skenes
The Pittsburgh Pirates will send their prized young right-hander, Paul Skenes to the mound for his third start of the 2025 season. Skenes, last year's National League Rookie of the Year, has been impressive in his early outings, posting a 1-0 record with a stellar 1.46 ERA. In his last start on April 2 against the Tampa Bay Rays, Skenes dominated through seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits while striking out six and walking none.
Despite his early career success, Skenes is still searching for his first career victory against the St. Louis Cardinals. The 23-year-old has gone 0-2 with a 1.31 ERA in three previous starts against St. Louis.
"Mr. Nutting and (manager Derek Shelton) aren't the ones playing," Skenes told ESPN recently, referring to fan frustration with the Pittsburgh Pirates' slow start. "We're the ones playing. If we were 8-0 However many games we've played right now, the fans aren't booing. We've got to play better."
The Pittsburgh Pirates have won their last two games, including Monday's series opener where they scored a season-high eight runs. Joey Bart went 2-for-4 with a triple, home run and two RBIs in the victory, while Andrew McCutchen and Isiah Kiner-Falefa also drove in two runs apiece.
St. Louis Cardinals counter with veteran Gray amid four-game losing streak
The St. Louis Cardinals will counter with veteran right-hander Sonny Gray, who has experienced mixed results in his first two starts of the 2025 campaign. Gray enters with a 1-0 record and 5.73 ERA, having struck out an impressive 15 batters in just 11 innings pitched. In his most recent outing on April 2 against the Los Angeles Angels, Gray allowed five earned runs on five hits over six innings while recording nine strikeouts and no walks.
"This is the worst type of day when you feel amazing and the ball is coming out the way you want it to do, you feel dominant for one inning and then you go to have a shutdown and four hits later, you give up four runs," Gray said after his last start.
Despite their current four-game losing streak, the St. Louis Cardinals boast one of baseball's most potent offenses. St. Louis leads the majors with a 0.297 team batting average and ranks second with 6.6 runs per game. Brendan Donovan has been particularly hot, batting 0.375 on the season and collecting three hits in Monday's loss. The team might be without third baseman Nolan Arenado, however, as he's listed as day-to-day with an illness.
The St. Louis Cardinals' pitching staff has struggled mightily, posting a league-worst 6.29 ERA through their first ten games of the season.
Also Read: Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Paul Skenes named National League Rookie of the Year
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