Gameday 134: Pirates try to take three of four on the road against the Cardinals
Braxton Ashcraft vs Miles Mikolas
The Pittsburgh Pirates have an opportunity to take three of four against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday after a 2-1 victory on Wednesday.
Bubba Chandler made his second major league appearance and now has a win and a save, along with eight shutout innings to start his career.
Carmen Mlodzinski started and allowed one run on three hits and three walks over three innings pitched. Isaac Mattson pitched the eighth, while Dennis Santana picked up his 10th save of the season.
All the offense they needed was a two-run single by Tommy Pham, scoring Jared Triolo and Spencer Horwitz.
Braxton Ashcraft will get the start for the Pirates on Thursday, facing Miles Mikolas for the Cardinals.
First pitch is scheduled for 2:15 pm ET.
Pirates Lineup
1B - Spencer Horwitz
LF - Tommy Pham
DH - Bryan Reynolds
2B - Nick Gonzales
CF - Oneil Cruz
C - Joey Bart
RF - Jack Suwinski
SS - Liover Peguero
3B - Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Cardinals Lineup
CF - Lars Nootbaar
DH - Ivan Herrera
LF - Alec Burleson
1B - Willson Contreras
3B - Nolan Gorman
SS - Masyn Winn
2B - Thomas Saggese
RF - Jordan Walker
C - Yohel Pozo
Pitching Matchup
PIT - Braxton Ashcraft (4-2, 2.70 ERA, 46.2 IP, 43 K)
STL - Miles Mikolas (6-10, 5.17 ERA, 125.1 IP, 81 K)
Yesterday’s Feature
The Week in Bradenton: More Possibilities for the 2026 FCL Bucs
DSL pitching stats are even less useful than hitting stats, so figuring out which pitchers are noteworthy is a perilous exercise. On top of that, any information we have about their stuff is usually outdated. However, some objective factors can help us make informed guesses about which players we might see stateside ne…
Today’s Feature
Live from Greensboro: Carlson Reed strikes out 10, Callan Moss, Derek Diamond
I’m down in Greensboro again, taking in the final homestand of 2025 for the Grasshoppers. They are facing the Wilmington Blue Rocks, the Nationals’ High-A affiliate, who are in last place right now.
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It will also give access to my player feature articles from on-site trips.
Omar Alfonzo growing as a leader in Pirates' organization
When talking about Altoona Curve catcher Omar Alfonzo, most of the attention is towards the bat, for good reason. He’s a power-hitting catcher who hits from the left side and has double-digit home run totals in each of the last two seasons.
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Esmerlyn V needs a triple for a cycle. Be great to see him get hot.
A prototypical Cherington loss. Offense chokes away early chances, then packs it in for the day. Starter does a great job but gets nothing to show for it. Manager puts in the wrong reliever because it was his "turn" and he blows the game.
I swear we've seen this exact same game 300 times in the last six years.