Since the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates are division rivals, they have faced each other plenty of times during the regular season. 2013 saw the Pirates and Cardinals cross paths 19 times. Who won more regular season games heading into Game 1? The underdogs have plenty to be optimistic about heading into this series.
Here are all the results of all 19 games played between the Pirates and Cardinals in 2013.
Back in April, the Cardinals and Pirates played twice. It was a three-game series, but the second game was rained out. Both teams split the series, winning one game a piece.
Apr. 15- Cardinals Win 10-6
Apr. 17- Pirates Win 5-0
10 days laters, they were back at it again in St. Louis. The Pirates, who had won six of their last seven, took two of three and continued playing great baseball.
Apr. 26- Cardinals Win 9-1
Apr. 27- Pirates Win 5-3
Apr. 28- Pirates Win 9-0
The two teams did not meet again until July, over three months later and the Pirates were a different team. They must have been listening to Jay-Z's "Takeover" because that's what they did to the N.L. Central after sitting in second place for much of the summer.
July 29- Pirates Win 9-2
July 30- Game 1 Pirates Win 2-1, Game 2 Pirates Win 6-0
July 31- Pirates Win 5-4
Aug. 1- Cardinals Salvage Series, Win 13-0
The Cardinals had to show who was boss, and when they met again 12 days later, the wasted no time winning in dramatic fashio as both of their victories took place in extra innings. In those St. Louis victories, the Pirates and Cardinals played a total of 26 innings, meaning they almost basically played four games in the three-game set.
Aug. 13- Cardinals Win 4-3
Aug. 14- Pirates Win 5-1
Aug. 15- Cardinals Win 6-5
Just when the Cardinals thought they were gaining momentum, the Pirates cut them short, immediately taking the first two games of a three-game set in dominant fashion.
Aug. 30- Pirates Win 5-0
Aug. 31- Pirates Win 7-1
Sept. 1- Cardinals Win 7-2
From here on out, it was all Cardinals. Down 10-6 in the season series, the Cardials only saw red and this is not meant literally as the games were played in Busch Stadium. The Pirates entered the series with a half-game lead in the N.L. Central. This is when the Cardinals simply took back their lead, never releasing first place again.
Sept. 6- Cardinals Win 12-8
Sept. 7- Cardinals Win 5-0
Sept. 8- Cardinals Win 9-2
The entire Cardinals vs. Pirates season in a nutshell. However, clearly, things are not settled yet. The N.L. Central was so good in 2013 that three teams from that division will play in October (the Cardinals being the third and final team). The Cincinnati Reds saw action in October, but they were bounced from contention in the N.L. Wild Card Game by the Bucs. Maybe it was the floating duck or (more likely) it was Francisco Liriano's pitching along with Russell Martin's pop. The Cardinals will have to cut down a Pirates team that is highly motivated and a team that might have the 2013 N.L. MVP winner in its roster.
