The St. Louis Cardinals avoided a series sweep by the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 3-0 victory Sunday. Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright allowed the Bucs just two hits over eight innings. Steven Brault took the loss, allowing one run on five hits over his four innings. The Pirates record fell to 44-80 this season.
The Pirates have returned home and will open a three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight at PNC Park. First pitch is 7:05pm. Pre-game on WISR 680am is 6:40pm.
The Pirates have waived veteran outfielder Gregory Polanco. Polanco had a batting average under .200 as of the weekend. Other teams will have an opportunity to claim Polanco, or he could remain on the Pirates roster. The Pirates had signed Polanco to a five-year $35 million contract extension in April of 2016. He would have been paid $12.5 million next season if the Pirates didn’t use a $3 million buyout.