The St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates will meet for the 20th time in 2013 on Thursday evening as they get ready to face off in the Game 1 NLDS. Want to know the score? You're in the right place as we bring you information on how to keep up with the game. Let's start things off with the batting lineups for both N.L. Central teams.
The Road Team
The Pittsburgh Pirates finished the regular season with a 94-68 recording 2013. Many were happy to see them finish above .500, but the team wanted more and they are now battling for a spot in the NLCS.
The Pirates' offense is easy to break down. They are young, lack experience in the playoffs, they will strikeout, hit for a low average, but they can hit home runs. Pedro Alvarez pretty much sums up the Pirates. He was tied for first place in the NL with 36 home runs, while striking out 186 times and hitting .233. He is playing his third season in the majors and is proving to be one of the game's best sluggers.
Who else will Cardinals' starter, Adam Wainwright, have to worry about? Here's the Pirates' batting order.
1. Starlin Marte LF
2. Neil Walker 2B
3. Andrew McCutchen CF
4. Justin Morneau 1B
5. Marlon Byrd RF
6. Pedro Alvarez 3B
7. Russell Martin C
8. Clinton Barmes SS
9. A.J. Burnett P
Unlike the Pirates' offense, the Cardinals will make pitchers work. Their .269 batting average was second in the N.L. only to the Colardo Rockies. The Cardinals won't go deep and Burnett will make sure of that, but they can put up runs quickly, scoring a total of 783 in 2013 to lead the N.L.
Why are they so deadly? Look at the Cardinals' lineup.
1. Matt Carpenter 2B
2. Carlos Beltran RF
3. Matt Holliday LF
4. Matt Adams 1B
5. Yadier Molina C
6. Jon Jay CF
7. David Freese 3B
8. Daniel Descalso SS
9. Adam Wainwright P
They can beat you with their offense and they can win games with their pitching. Wainwright finished first in innings pitched in baseball and first in games won in the NL. His 219 strikeouts were sixth in baseball and his 1.07 WHIP were ninth in the MLB.
The Cardinals have the edge with their explosive offense and hometown support.
Click here for scoring updates of Game 1 of the NLDS between the Pirates and Cardinals.
