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FinalFinal lineupsNL Central

Pittsburgh Pirates 5, St. Louis Cardinals 4

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

2:15 PM ET · Busch StadiumGame-day snapshot Aug 30, 5:20 PM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 12, 5:00 AM ET
T-Score53
Pittsburgh Pirates
82–80 · 3rd NL Central · T-Score 53
5
5–4
FINAL
St. Louis Cardinals
77–85 · 4th NL Central · T-Score 44
4
T-Score44
FINAL

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherPiratesPittsburgh has the stronger starting-pitcher profile: Ashcraft leads in P-Score, WHIP and last-5 ERA.
Offense vs handPiratesPittsburgh has produced the stronger offense against left-handed pitching.
BullpenEvenThe two bullpens have produced similar season ERA and WHIP.
Recent formPiratesPittsburgh has won 5 of its last 10 and owns the stronger recent run differential.
Plate disciplinePiratesPittsburgh has drawn 486 walks this season, 48 more than St..

Starting pitchers

PIT
Braxton Ashcraft RHP
Braxton Ashcraft
Pittsburgh Pirates
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.59
64th
WHIP
1.07
27th
K/9
9.33
48th
BB/9
1.97
11th
P-Score67i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.22
113th
OPS/R
–
IP
155.1
Last 5 starts
ERA
1.91
QUALITY
START %
60%
(3 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
STL
Matthew Liberatore LHP
Matthew Liberatore
St. Louis Cardinals
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
5.44
175th
WHIP
1.47
181st
K/9
9.21
73rd
BB/9
3.14
117th
P-Score46i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.60
188th
OPS/R
–
IP
129.0
Last 5 starts
ERA
6.15
QUALITY
START %
40%
(2 of 5)
DAYS
REST
5
How the starters differ
·Ashcraft allows fewer baserunners, with a 1.07 WHIP compared with 1.47.
·Ashcraft enters with a 3.59 ERA compared with Liberatore's 5.44.
·Ashcraft allows the lower home-run rate: 1.22 vs 1.60 per nine.
·Ashcraft owns a 1.91 ERA over his last five starts, compared with 6.15 for Liberatore.
Advanced starter metricsERA−, FIP, WAR, career vs opponent
MetricAshcraftLiberatoreNote
Career vs opponent5.56 ERA, 2 GS7.71 ERA, 1 GSCareer history against this opponent.

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Ashcraft arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam31%97.3
Curveball26%85.0
Slider22%91.8
Sinker17%97.1
Splitter4%91.8
Liberatore arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam30%94.3
Slider27%86.1
Curveball18%79.6
Changeup13%88.5
Sinker8%94.2
Cutter4%90.5
Sweeper0%85.2
Splitter0%87.0

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Pirates vs LHP (Matthew Liberatore)
17th
in MLB
0.701OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Cardinals vs RHP (Braxton Ashcraft)
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
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs LHPVs Liberatore (BvP)
1Jared TrioloRSS37.6093.6880-for-3Very small sample
2Oneil CruzLCF74.85420.8490-for-2Very small sample
3Bryan ReynoldsSLF74.78917.8243-for-5Very small sample
4Rafael Flores Jr.RC65.85811.8090-for-1Very small sample
5Brandon LoweL2B73.82435.6120-for-2Very small sample
6Esmerlyn ValdezRRF72.855171.011No MLB historyNo history
7Jake MangumSCF40.6945.675No MLB historyNo history
8Spencer HorwitzL1B52.70810.6081-for-1Very small sample
9Nick YorkeR3B32.5631.570No MLB historyNo history
1Jared Triolo SS · R.238 / .609 · 3 HRvs hand .688 · 0-for-3 · Very small sample37H-Score2Oneil Cruz CF · L.280 / .854 · 20 HRvs hand .849 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample74H-Score3Bryan Reynolds LF · S.261 / .789 · 17 HRvs hand .824 · 3-for-5 · Very small sample74H-Score4Rafael Flores Jr. C · R.264 / .858 · 11 HRvs hand .809 · 0-for-1 · Very small sample65H-Score5Brandon Lowe 2B · L.260 / .824 · 35 HRvs hand .612 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample73H-Score6Esmerlyn Valdez RF · R.232 / .855 · 17 HRvs hand 1.011 · No MLB history · No history72H-Score7Jake Mangum CF · S.276 / .694 · 5 HRvs hand .675 · No MLB history · No history40H-Score8Spencer Horwitz 1B · L.244 / .708 · 10 HRvs hand .608 · 1-for-1 · Very small sample52H-Score9Nick Yorke 3B · R.212 / .563 · 1 HRvs hand .570 · No MLB history · No history32H-Score
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Ashcraft (BvP)
1Bryan TorresLLF37.6404.672No MLB historyNo history
2Iván HerreraRDH64.73519.6971-for-3Very small sample
3Alec BurlesonL1B75.81626.9390-for-2Very small sample
4Jordan WalkerRRF76.79329.7691-for-7Very small sample
5Nolan GormanL3B42.5809.5980-for-2Very small sample
6José FermínRLF44.6646.6051-for-3Very small sample
7Nathan ChurchLCF43.65410.6710-for-2Very small sample
8Ramón UríasR3B43.5864.335No MLB historyNo history
9Thomas SaggeseRSS47.6464.5951-for-2Very small sample
1Bryan Torres LF · L.229 / .640 · 4 HRvs hand .672 · No MLB history · No history37H-Score2Iván Herrera DH · R.241 / .735 · 19 HRvs hand .697 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample64H-Score3Alec Burleson 1B · L.279 / .816 · 26 HRvs hand .939 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample75H-Score4Jordan Walker RF · R.269 / .793 · 29 HRvs hand .769 · 1-for-7 · Very small sample76H-Score5Nolan Gorman 3B · L.184 / .580 · 9 HRvs hand .598 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample42H-Score6José Fermín LF · R.248 / .664 · 6 HRvs hand .605 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample44H-Score7Nathan Church CF · L.247 / .654 · 10 HRvs hand .671 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample43H-Score8Ramón Urías 3B · R.151 / .586 · 4 HRvs hand .335 · No MLB history · No history43H-Score9Thomas Saggese SS · R.235 / .646 · 4 HRvs hand .595 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample47H-Score

Team comparison

OffensePITPIT·STLSTL
AVG.253 5th.239 24th
OPS.734 6th.691 28th
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 ERA4.06vs4.00
no league rank
Bullpen WHIP1.28vs1.32
no league rank
Saves41vs46
PITSTL
ResultsPITPIT·STLSTL
+3845th
Run differential
+27321st
82–80 Record77–85
5–5 Last 103–7
Last 10 games
Pittsburgh Pirates (5–5)
W
L
L
W
W
L
L
L
W
W
St. Louis Cardinals (3–7)
L
W
W
L
L
L
L
L
W
L
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
7—6
13 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Pirates?+
Braxton Ashcraft (3.59 ERA, 13–5) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Cardinals?+
Matthew Liberatore (5.44 ERA, 5–12) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
2:15 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?+
Braxton Ashcraft is at 67; Matthew Liberatore is at 46. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.