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Gorzelanny hopes to get on track vs. Cardinals

Apr 24, 2008 - 2:00 PM St. Louis (13-9) at Pittsburgh (9-12) 7:05 pm EDT

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) - One of the few bright spots in an otherwise lost 2007 campaign for the Pittsburgh Pirates was the emergence of Tom Gorzelanny. Four starts into 2008, and the lefthander has yet to match that form.

The Pirates will be looking to sweep a two-game series when they host the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.

Jason Bay homered in the fifth and Doug Mientkiewicz drove in a pair in a three-run eighth inning that lifted Pittsburgh to a 7-4 win over in the series opener Wednesday.

It marked the second win in a row for the Pirates, who had been outscored 58-16 during a six-game losing streak that ended Tuesday.

Gorzelanny (1-2, 9.35 ERA) emerged as the ace of a young staff in 2007, going 14-10 with a 3.89 ERA in his first full season in the majors. But the 25-year-old tossed 201 2/3 innings - an increase of 40 innings from the previous season - in 2007 despite the Pirates being well out of contention by August.

The heavy workload could be a reason for his early struggles this season, as Gorzelanny has had two starts - including his last outing at Chicago - in which he has failed to make it out of third inning while yielding seven earned runs.

The Cardinals will counter with righthander Joel Pineiro (0-2, 8.10). The 29-year-old had a disastrous first start after returning from a shoulder injury on April 13, allowing six runs and 10 hits in 3 2/3 frames.

He recovered to post a quality start on Saturday in a 3-0 loss.