The St. Louis Cardinals entered the weekend within striking distance of the Pittsburgh Pirates, but on Sunday they'll merely be looking to save face. The Pirates have outscored the Cardinals 21-8 in the first two games of the weekend series, and Cardinals starter Jake Westbrook will undoubtedly be looking to keep the ball in the yard on Sunday.
After a rough patch of starts toward the end of May, Westbrook has steadied himself of late, delivering four quality starts in a row, lowering his ERA to 3.77. Westbrook has seen the Pirates twice already this season, giving up six earned runs and 16 hits in 13 innings. He has struck out ten batters, though.
The Cardinals will face Erik Bedard, who will be looking to rebound from a terrible June that saw him give up 19 earned runs in 26 innings across five starts. The Cardinals have faced Bedard twice so far in 2012, and the results have been mixed. St. Louis has hit Bedard pretty well, but they've been unable to score many runs; they've tagged Bedard with only four earned runs in 12 innings. They've also struck out 18 times.
Game date/time: Sunday, July 1, 1:15 p.m. CT
Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Mo.
TV: FSN Midwest
For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For more in-depth coverage of this series,check out SB Nation's Cardinals and Pirates blogs, Viva El Birdos and Bucs Dugout. News and notes from around Major League Baseball can be found on Baseball Nation.