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FinalFinal lineupsNL Central

Pittsburgh Pirates 1, St. Louis Cardinals 4

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

8:15 PM ET · Busch StadiumGame-day snapshot Aug 28, 11:00 PM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 11, 5:01 AM ET
T-Score53
Pittsburgh Pirates
82–80 · 3rd NL Central · T-Score 53
1
1–4
FINAL
St. Louis Cardinals
77–85 · 4th NL Central · T-Score 42
4
T-Score42
FINAL

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherPiratesJones leads Mathews in P-Score (62 vs 54), WHIP and K/9.
Offense vs handPiratesPittsburgh owns a .701 OPS vs LHP, 17th in MLB; St. ranks 29th vs RHP.
LineupPiratesPittsburgh's official lineup includes 6 right-handed bats against the opposing starter.
BullpenEvenThe two bullpens have produced similar season ERA and WHIP.
Recent formPiratesPittsburgh has been the better recent team, at 5–5 over the last 10.

Starting pitchers

PIT
Jared Jones RHP
Jared Jones
Pittsburgh Pirates
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
4.76
73rd
WHIP
1.25
23rd
K/9
10.19
15th
BB/9
3.44
71st
P-Score62i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.46
85th
OPS/R
–
IP
68.0
Last 5 starts
ERA
3.60
QUALITY
START %
20%
(1 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
STL
Quinn Mathews LHP
Quinn Mathews
St. Louis Cardinals
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
6.43
84th
WHIP
1.79
150th
K/9
8.36
97th
BB/9
4.50
146th
P-Score54i
FIP
–
HR/9
0.64
51st
OPS/R
–
IP
14.0
Last 5 starts
ERA
6.43
QUALITY
START %
0%
(0 of 3)
DAYS
REST
6
How the starters differ
·Jones allows fewer baserunners, with a 1.25 WHIP compared with 1.79.
·Jones enters with a 4.76 ERA compared with Mathews's 6.43.
·Jones strikes out 1.8 more batters per nine innings.
·Mathews allows the lower home-run rate: 0.64 vs 1.46 per nine.
Advanced starter metricsERA−, FIP, WAR, career vs opponent
MetricJonesMathewsNote
Career vs opponent– ERA, 1 GS–Career history against this opponent.

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Jones arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam47%98.2
Slider34%89.8
Changeup11%92.8
Curveball8%85.7
Mathews arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam39%93.4
Slider23%84.8
Changeup17%83.0
Curveball13%75.7
Sinker9%92.8

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Pirates vs LHP (Quinn Mathews)
17th
in MLB
0.701OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Cardinals vs RHP (Jared Jones)
29th
in MLB
0.688OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000

Lineups

Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
Pittsburgh PiratesOfficial lineupvs LHP Quinn Mathews
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs LHPVs Mathews (BvP)
1Jared TrioloRSS38.6093.688No MLB historyNo history
2Esmerlyn ValdezRRF75.855171.011No MLB historyNo history
3Bryan ReynoldsSLF77.78917.824No MLB historyNo history
4Oneil CruzLCF77.85420.849No MLB historyNo history
5Nick GonzalesR3B55.7556.653No MLB historyNo history
6Rafael Flores Jr.RC68.85811.809No MLB historyNo history
7Jake MangumSCF42.6945.675No MLB historyNo history
8Nick YorkeR3B32.5631.570No MLB historyNo history
9Henry DavisRC49.58510.370No MLB historyNo history
1Jared Triolo SS · R.238 / .609 · 3 HRvs hand .688 · No MLB history · No history38H-Score2Esmerlyn Valdez RF · R.232 / .855 · 17 HRvs hand 1.011 · No MLB history · No history75H-Score3Bryan Reynolds LF · S.261 / .789 · 17 HRvs hand .824 · No MLB history · No history77H-Score4Oneil Cruz CF · L.280 / .854 · 20 HRvs hand .849 · No MLB history · No history77H-Score5Nick Gonzales 3B · R.303 / .755 · 6 HRvs hand .653 · No MLB history · No history55H-Score6Rafael Flores Jr. C · R.264 / .858 · 11 HRvs hand .809 · No MLB history · No history68H-Score7Jake Mangum CF · S.276 / .694 · 5 HRvs hand .675 · No MLB history · No history42H-Score8Nick Yorke 3B · R.212 / .563 · 1 HRvs hand .570 · No MLB history · No history32H-Score9Henry Davis C · R.172 / .585 · 10 HRvs hand .370 · No MLB history · No history49H-Score
St. Louis CardinalsOfficial lineupvs RHP Jared Jones
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Jones (BvP)
1JJ WetherholtL2B64.70417.732No MLB historyNo history
2Iván HerreraRDH64.73519.697No MLB historyNo history
3Alec BurlesonL1B79.81626.9390-for-2Very small sample
4Jordan WalkerRRF79.79329.769No MLB historyNo history
5José FermínRLF46.6646.605No MLB historyNo history
6Nathan ChurchLCF45.65410.671No MLB historyNo history
7Joshua BáezRLF56.7887.613No MLB historyNo history
8Nolan GormanL3B44.5809.5980-for-2Very small sample
9Jimmy CrooksLC42.5915.569No MLB historyNo history
1JJ Wetherholt 2B · L.242 / .704 · 17 HRvs hand .732 · No MLB history · No history64H-Score2Iván Herrera DH · R.241 / .735 · 19 HRvs hand .697 · No MLB history · No history64H-Score3Alec Burleson 1B · L.279 / .816 · 26 HRvs hand .939 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample79H-Score4Jordan Walker RF · R.269 / .793 · 29 HRvs hand .769 · No MLB history · No history79H-Score5José Fermín LF · R.248 / .664 · 6 HRvs hand .605 · No MLB history · No history46H-Score6Nathan Church CF · L.247 / .654 · 10 HRvs hand .671 · No MLB history · No history45H-Score7Joshua Báez LF · R.230 / .788 · 7 HRvs hand .613 · No MLB history · No history56H-Score8Nolan Gorman 3B · L.184 / .580 · 9 HRvs hand .598 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample44H-Score9Jimmy Crooks C · L.179 / .591 · 5 HRvs hand .569 · No MLB history · No history42H-Score

Team comparison

OffensePITPIT·STLSTL
AVG.253 5th.239 24th
OPS.734 6th.691 29th
Home runs186 13th167 24th
Runs767 6th720 16th
OBP.330 4th.313 22nd
SLG.404 9th.378 29th
PitchingPITPIT·STLSTL
1stMLB rank30th
ERA4.14vs4.26
PITSTL
WHIP1.30vs1.36
PITSTL
K/99.3vs8.0
PITSTL
HR Allowed155vs158
PITSTL
BullpenPITPIT·STLSTL
1stMLB rank30th
Bullpen ERA3.99vs4.15
no league rank
Bullpen WHIP1.26vs1.33
no league rank
Saves41vs46
PITSTL
ResultsPITPIT·STLSTL
+3678th
Run differential
+26720th
82–80 Record77–85
5–5 Last 104–6
Last 10 games
Pittsburgh Pirates (5–5)
L
W
W
L
L
L
W
W
L
W
St. Louis Cardinals (4–6)
W
L
L
L
L
L
W
L
W
W
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
7—6
13 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Pirates?+
Jared Jones (4.76 ERA, 2–5) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Cardinals?+
Quinn Mathews (6.43 ERA, 0–2) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
8:15 PM ET at Busch Stadium.
Where is the game being played?+
Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Pirates and Cardinals performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Cardinals 6–7 this season.
How do the starters compare on P-Score?+
Jared Jones is at 62; Quinn Mathews is at 54. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.