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Cards aim to improve postseason hopes in Pittsburgh

Sep 12, 2011 - 2:41 PM (Sports Network) - The Cardinals have picked an excellent time to go on their longest winning streak of the season. Their choice of opponent couldn't have been better either.

After sweeping the National League's Wild Card leader, St. Louis looks to breath a little more life into its playoff chances this evening with the opener of a three-game set against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Cardinals have picked up a victory in 12 of their last 16 games and come into this series riding a five-game win streak. The season-high run began with consecutive wins over the NL Central-leading Brewers and was then extended with a weekend sweep of the Braves.

Those timely victories have St. Louis 4 1/2 games behind Atlanta for the league's last playoff spot and six back of Milwaukee for division bragging rights.

"I feel like we are [in the race] if we keep winning," Cards manager Tony La Russa told his team's website after a 6-3 win over the Braves on Sunday. "It's exciting baseball. Guys have come through all over the roster. We've got a shot."

Yadier Molina sparked Sunday's win with a three-run double that highlighted a five-run third inning. Jake Westbrook then picked up the win after allowing a pair of runs over 5 1/3 innings.

The Cardinals would love a similar outing tonight from Kyle Lohse, who picked up a win over the Pirates on Aug. 28. He gave up four runs -- two earned -- on six hits over five innings on that day, running his career record versus Pittsburgh to 7-2 with a 3.51 earned run average.

St. Louis then gave Lohse some extra rest as he did not make his next start until Tuesday. The move worked, with the 32-year-old righty hurling six scoreless innings of four-hit ball to beat the Brewers. The win was Lohse's second straight and fifth in his last six decisions, giving him a 13-8 record and 3.59 ERA on the year.

While Lohse is looking to help Pittsburgh's playoff chances, Pirates hurler Brad Lincoln is aiming to work his way into the 2012 rotation. The fourth overall pick of the 2006 has gone six innings in each of his last four starts and is 1-2 with a 3.53 ERA in nine games this season, including five starts.

Lincoln has lost two straight outings despite giving up just five runs in that time. The 26-year-old righty is coming off a defeat to Houston on Tuesday as he yielded a pair of runs on five hits with six strikeouts and no walks.

Lincoln's lone victory this year did come versus the Cardinals on Aug. 27, an outing in which he hurled six scoreless innings of six-hit ball in a 7-0 win.

Pittsburgh will try to rebound tonight after getting swept over the weekend by Florida, giving the club a loss in five of seven overall. The Pirates also lost all six meetings with the Marlins this year.

James McDonald failed to make it out of the fifth inning, giving up four runs on five hits and four walks.

"There's been some games where it's gotten away from James for an inning, and I think that was kind of the case today," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said.

Jason Jaramillo brought in the lone run for Pittsburgh.

The Cardinals have won four of their last five over the Pirates, giving them a 7-6 edge in the season series.