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FinalFinal lineupsNL Central

St. Louis Cardinals 1, Pittsburgh Pirates 2

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

12:35 PM ET · PNC ParkGame-day snapshot Sep 26, 2:00 AM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 29, 5:00 AM ET
T-Score33
St. Louis Cardinals
77–85 · 4th NL Central · T-Score 33
1
1–2
FINAL · 9 innings
Pittsburgh Pirates
82–80 · 3rd NL Central · T-Score 43
2
T-Score43
FINAL · 9 innings
Pitching recap
PitcherTeamRoleIPHERBBKP
Kyle LeahySTL
Starter
2.0310337
Ryne StanekSTL
ReliefLoss
1.0002021
Paul SkenesPIT
Starter
6.1312896
Luke WeaverPIT
ReliefWin
0.100015
Mason MontgomeryPIT
ReliefSave
1.0000317
Scoring by inning
123456789RHE
STLSt. Louis Cardinals100000000152
PITPittsburgh Pirates100000010270
Top hitters
Alec Burleson1-for-4 · 1 HR · 1 RBI
Brandon Lowe1-for-3 · 1 RBI · 1 BB
Spencer Horwitz0-for-3 · 1 RBI
Oneil Cruz2-for-4 · 1 R
JJ Wetherholt2-for-4

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherPiratesThe starters are close overall, but Skenes owns the better strikeout and control profile.
Offense vs handPiratesPittsburgh has produced the stronger offense against right-handed pitching.
BullpenPiratesPittsburgh has allowed fewer runs from the bullpen on the season ERA.
Starter formCardinalsLeahy has a 0.64 ERA over his last five starts, while Skenes is at 3.72.
Recent formPiratesPittsburgh has won 6 of its last 10 and owns the stronger recent run differential.

Pregame contextStarting pitchers

STL
Kyle Leahy RHP
Kyle Leahy
St. Louis Cardinals
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.65
67th
WHIP
1.34
128th
K/9
8.41
94th
BB/9
2.67
67th
P-Score54i
FIP
–
HR/9
0.98
64th
OPS/R
–
IP
138.0
Last 5 starts
ERA
0.64
QUALITY
START %
0%
(0 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
PIT
Paul Skenes RHP
Paul Skenes
Pittsburgh Pirates
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.91
83rd
WHIP
1.13
38th
K/9
10.29
29th
BB/9
2.52
54th
P-Score65i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.02
84th
OPS/R
–
IP
168.0
Last 5 starts
ERA
3.72
QUALITY
START %
40%
(2 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
How the starters differ
·Skenes owns a 10.3 K/9 compared with Leahy's 8.4.
·Skenes allows fewer baserunners, with a 1.13 WHIP compared with 1.34.
·Skenes has produced a quality start in 40% of outings versus 0%.
·Both pitchers work on 6 days of rest.

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Leahy arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam26%94.2
Curveball16%83.0
Slider16%89.4
Changeup15%88.6
Sweeper14%84.8
Sinker13%94.2
Skenes arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam41%96.8
Sweeper16%84.3
Changeup12%88.7
Sinker12%96.6
Splitter10%93.2
Slider9%86.6
Curveball0%81.8

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Cardinals vs RHP (Paul Skenes)
29th
in MLB
0.688OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Pirates vs RHP (Kyle Leahy)
6th
in MLB
0.749OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000

Lineup strength vs today's starter

Weighted by batting-order spot. Season rates are regressed toward league average before they enter the model.

Updated Sep 24, 10:35 AM ET
STLSTL
.723
−16 ptsOPS edge
PITPIT
.739

Slight edge: PIT

Full lineup comparison

Lineups

Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
St. Louis CardinalsOfficial lineupvs RHP Paul Skenes
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Skenes (BvP)
1JJ WetherholtL2B55.70417.7322-for-3Very small sample
2Iván HerreraRDH60.73519.6970-for-3Very small sample
3Alec BurlesonL1B71.81626.9398-for-20Small sample
4Jordan WalkerRRF73.79329.7691-for-2Very small sample
5Leo BernalSC60.8075.899No MLB historyNo history
6Bryan TorresLLF36.6404.672No MLB historyNo history
7Thomas SaggeseRSS44.6464.595No MLB historyNo history
8Nathan ChurchLCF41.65410.6710-for-2Very small sample
9Masyn WinnRSS42.6255.5941-for-10Small sample
1JJ Wetherholt 2B · L.242 / .704 · 17 HRvs hand .732 · 2-for-3 · Very small sample55H-Score2Iván Herrera DH · R.241 / .735 · 19 HRvs hand .697 · 0-for-3 · Very small sample60H-Score3Alec Burleson 1B · L.279 / .816 · 26 HRvs hand .939 · 8-for-20 · Small sample71H-Score4Jordan Walker RF · R.269 / .793 · 29 HRvs hand .769 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample73H-Score5Leo Bernal C · S.284 / .807 · 5 HRvs hand .899 · No MLB history · No history60H-Score6Bryan Torres LF · L.229 / .640 · 4 HRvs hand .672 · No MLB history · No history36H-Score7Thomas Saggese SS · R.235 / .646 · 4 HRvs hand .595 · No MLB history · No history44H-Score8Nathan Church CF · L.247 / .654 · 10 HRvs hand .671 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample41H-Score9Masyn Winn SS · R.232 / .625 · 5 HRvs hand .594 · 1-for-10 · Small sample42H-Score
Pittsburgh PiratesOfficial lineupvs RHP Kyle Leahy
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Leahy (BvP)
1Oneil CruzLCF69.85420.8582-for-6Very small sample
2Konnor GriffinRSS45.7286.6901-for-2Very small sample
3Brandon LoweL2B68.82435.9101-for-3Very small sample
4Ryan O'HearnLRF59.77018.8392-for-4Very small sample
5Nick GonzalesR3B48.7556.7901-for-2Very small sample
6Ronny SimonSRF—.6481.6120-for-1Very small sample
7Spencer HorwitzL1B49.70810.734No MLB historyNo history
8Jake MangumSCF38.6945.7001-for-1Very small sample
9Henry DavisRC44.58510.6580-for-2Very small sample
1Oneil Cruz CF · L.280 / .854 · 20 HRvs hand .858 · 2-for-6 · Very small sample69H-Score2Konnor Griffin SS · R.272 / .728 · 6 HRvs hand .690 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample45H-Score3Brandon Lowe 2B · L.260 / .824 · 35 HRvs hand .910 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample68H-Score4Ryan O'Hearn RF · L.265 / .770 · 18 HRvs hand .839 · 2-for-4 · Very small sample59H-Score5Nick Gonzales 3B · R.303 / .755 · 6 HRvs hand .790 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample48H-Score6Ronny Simon RF · S.254 / .648 · 1 HRvs hand .612 · 0-for-1 · Very small sample—H-Score7Spencer Horwitz 1B · L.244 / .708 · 10 HRvs hand .734 · No MLB history · No history49H-Score8Jake Mangum CF · S.276 / .694 · 5 HRvs hand .700 · 1-for-1 · Very small sample38H-Score9Henry Davis C · R.172 / .585 · 10 HRvs hand .658 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample44H-Score

Team comparison

OffenseSTLSTL·PITPIT
AVG.239 22nd.253 5th
OPS.691 28th.734 6th
Home runs167 24th186 13th
Runs720 16th767 6th
OBP.313 22nd.330 4th
SLG.378 29th.404 9th
PitchingSTLSTL·PITPIT
1stMLB rank30th
ERA4.26vs4.14
STLPIT
WHIP1.36vs1.30
STLPIT
K/98.0vs9.3
STLPIT
HR Allowed158vs155
STLPIT
BullpenSTLSTL·PITPIT
1stMLB rank30th
Bullpen ERA4.66vs3.91
no league rank
Bullpen WHIP1.35vs1.29
no league rank
Saves46vs41
STLPIT
ResultsSTLSTL·PITPIT
+34119th
Run differential
+4446th
77–85 Record82–80
4–6 Last 106–4
Last 10 games
St. Louis Cardinals (4–6)
W
L
W
L
L
L
L
W
W
L
Pittsburgh Pirates (6–4)
L
W
W
W
W
W
L
L
W
L
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
6—7
13 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Cardinals?+
Kyle Leahy (3.65 ERA, 10–5) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Pirates?+
Paul Skenes (3.91 ERA, 10–11) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
12:35 PM ET at PNC Park.
Where is the game being played?+
PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Cardinals and Pirates performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Pirates 7–6 this season.
How do the starters compare on P-Score?+
Kyle Leahy is at 54; Paul Skenes is at 65. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.