The Pittsburgh Pirates are once again in Busch Stadium facing the St. Louis Cardinals. Check out the live stream available online for a very low price as the Cardinals look to take a 2-0 lead and the Pirates attempt to tie the series with a chance of clinching at home in Game 4. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, here are things to expect in Game 2.
The Cardinals have two options in Game 2. They can go after Pirates' starter Gerrit Cole or, like a boxer, take pitches and feel their way through the first few innings of this game. Cole has never seen the Cardinal as the rookie is making both his first start against the Cardinals and his first ever postseason start. Cole is in his first MLB season and as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft, he seems like the right guy to have on the mound.
Pressure? Those counting on pressure to be the problem in this game do not understand what it is to be a No. 1 pick, especially No. 1 overall. Cole's last few opponents in the 2013 season were pretty weak, but like the dominant young pitcher that he is, he closed the door. In September, Cole had a 4-0 record with a 1.69 ERA, allowing only six earned runs in 32 innings pitched. Nobody hit a home run against him as he pitched against the Chicago Cubs twice, Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres. You would have to go back to Aug. 8 to find a game in which Cole surrendered more than three earned runs and Aug. 29 was the last time he gave up a home run.
Lynn has been inconsistent in his starts against the Pirates. It's either he has it or he does not. In two of his five starts, he's only given a run in both games. In his other three games, Lynn has surrendered a total of 15 earned runs to the Pirates.
The Cardinals dominated the Pirates, scoring nine runs, seven of which came in one inning. The Pirates' made finished with as many errors as hits. Andrew McCutchen, Justin Morneau and Pedro Alvarez were the only Pirates to get base hits in Game 1.
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