The Pirates go back to Clint Barmes at shortstop today, opting for defense with Francisco Liriano on the mound.
Pirates
1. Starling Marte, LF
2. Neil Walker, 2B
3. Andrew McCutchen, CF
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Marlon Byrd, RF
6. Pedro Alvarez, 3B
7. Russell Martin, C
8. Clint Barmes, SS
9. Francisco Liriano, SP
Cardinals
1. Matt Carpenter, 2B
2. Carlos Beltran, RF
3. Matt Holliday, LF
4. Yadier Molina, C
5. David Freese, 3B
6. Matt Adams, 1B
7. Jon Jay, CF
8. Pete Kozma, SS
9. Joe Kelly, SP
The Cardinals will be going with the following left-handers: Carpenter, Adams, Jay. Carlos Beltran will be turned around against Liriano, where he’s less of a threat. He had an .871 OPS this year against right-handers, and a .729 OPS against lefties.
The Cardinals prepared for Liriano by moving Adams and Jay down in the order. They had previously been batting in the middle of the lineup. They also swapped out Daniel Descalso (lefty) for Pete Kozma at shortstop, although Kozma provides better defense.
Overall this should provide an advantage for Liriano, which should allow him to continue to dominate the Cardinals. On the season this year he has an 0.75 ERA in 24 innings against St. Louis.