MLB Game Preview - Pittsburgh at St. Louis

Sun Aug 11, 2019 2:15 PM EDT

The St. Louis Cardinals will seek their eighth consecutive victory over the staggering Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday while shooting for a home-field sweep.

The Cardinals won the first two games of the series at Busch Stadium while moving within two games of the first-place Chicago Cubs in the National League Central.

The Pirates have lost seven straight and 23 of their last 27 games to sink deep into the division cellar.

With Dexter Fowler leading off, speedy Tommy Edman hitting second and Marcell Ozuna back in the clean-up spot after recovering from finger fractures, the Cardinals are showing more offensive life.

Ozuna has two homers and a double in his last three games.

"I'm excited," Ozuna told the St. Louis Dispatch. "I like my fans, and I like to play here. All the fans give me a little love -- and I take care of that. My hand feels good. Just be patient and wait for your moment."

No. 3 Cardinals batter Paul Goldschmidt is hitting .351 with six homers and 19 RBIs against the Pirates this season. He reached base four times in the first two games of this series.

The Pirates moved left-hander Steven Brault (3-1, 4.09 ERA) up to start Sunday's game so that top pitching prospect Mitch Keller can start Monday's game against the Los Angeles Angels after arriving from Triple-A Indianapolis. Keller replaces the demoted Dario Agrazal in the starting rotation.

Brault spent a month on the injured list with a shoulder strain, then held the Brewers to two runs on three hits in 5 1/3 innings during his first game back on Aug. 6. That was the seventh time in eight starts that Brault held his opponent to two runs or fewer.

The Pirates moved Brault from the bullpen to the rotation out of necessity this season, but that decision may stick.

"That's been my goal this entire time," he told TribLive.com. "Last year, I was a bullpen pitcher the entire year. But at no point did I think that was where my career was going to continue. That's never what I wanted to do.

"I've always wanted to be a starter. I'm going to keep doing what I can to try to make it look in their eyes that I should be in this rotation going forward. This is where I want to be. I feel good where I'm at."

Brault is 0-1 with 11.81 ERA against the Cardinals this season in two appearances, including one start. He last faced the Cardinals on May 12 in a 10-6 Pirates victory. He allowed all six runs on nine hits, including two homers, in 3 2/3 innings in that outing.

Brault is 0-1 with a 5.11 ERA in nine career appearances against the Cardinals, including three starts.

Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas (7-12, 3.94) will try to extend his success at home this season. He has a 1.98 ERA in 11 starts at Busch Stadium.

Mikolas pitched well in his last two starts but lost 2-0 to the Chicago Cubs at home and 3-1 to the Dodgers in Los Angeles. He allowed just two runs in 12 innings in those games, striking out 10 and walking just two.

He is 2-1 with a 2.67 ERA in four starts against the Pirates this season. Mikolas was the winning pitcher in a 6-3 victory over the Pirates on July 25. He allowed those three runs on five hits in his six innings.

Mikolas is 4-3 with a 2.67 ERA in 11 career appearances against the Pirates, including nine starts.

--Field Level Media