ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

The Cardinals, winners Tuesday against ace Paul Skenes and the Pirates, face Pittsburgh at 11:35 a.m. (ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ time) Wednesday in the rubber game at PNC Park.

Last time out, the right-hander Erick Fedde (1-1, 7.00) was shelled at Boston, going three innings and allowing six earned runs on five hits, two of them home runs, and handing out four walks. The last time Fedde struggled this badly was three seasons ago, before he was non-tendered by Washington and proceeded to reinvent himself in South Korea.

Fedde's strikeout rate has dropped dramatically from last season through his first two starts in 2025. A respectable 21.2% strikeout rate last season is just 8.1% this season, among the lowest in baseball.

Opponents are making contact with Fedde's pitches in the strike zone far more than they did last season, and the effectiveness of some of his secondary offerings has plummeted.

Batters are hitting .500 off his changeup and .333 off his sweeper.

The Pirates will send out right-hander Mitch Keller (1-1, 7.45), who has been historically solid vs. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½. His 3.72 ERA vs. the Redbirds in 13 appearances is Keller's best ERA vs. any opponent against whom he's thrown more than 36 innings.

ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ is 5-6 and seeking its first series win since the season's first one.

Pittsburgh, 4-8, has yet to win a series.

Lineups

CARDINALS

1. Lars Nootbaar (L) RF
2. Willson Contreras (R) DH
3. Brendan Donovan (L) LF
4. Nolan Arenado (R) 3B
5. Alec Burleson (L) 1B
6. Pedro Pagés (R) C
7. Victor Scott II (L) CF
8. Thomas Saggese (R) 2B
9. Masyn Winn (R) SS

P: Erick Fedde, RHP

PIRATES

1. Jack Suwinski (L) CF
2. Bryan Reynolds (S) DH
3. Andrew McCutchen (R) RF
4. Joey Bart (R) C
5. Ke'Bryan Hayes (R) 3B
6. Endy Rodríguez (S) 1B
7. Adam Frazier (L) 2B
8. Tommy Pham (R) LF
9. Tsung-Che Cheng (L) SS

P: Mitch Keller, RHP

Injury report

Ivan Herrera, C (knee inflammation): Herrera was placed in the injured list Monday, a day after he had to be helped off the field after appearing to feel discomfort while running the bases. Testing revealed he had suffered a bone bruise and will miss at least four weeks. Updated April 7

Nolan Gorman, INF (hamstring strain): Before the start of the weekend series at Fenway Park, the Cardinals placed Gorman on the 10-day injured list due to hamstring pain. The injury happened Tuesday in the 10th inning, and his stint on the IL begins Wednesday. The Cardinals expect him to require five to 10 days to recover, and Gorman has already been cleared for activities such as throwing and hitting. To take his place on the active roster the Cardinals promoted Thomas Saggese. Updated April 4

Zack Thompson, LHP (lat strain): Remained in Jupiter, Florida, to begin a throwing program after a month of limited activity and no throwing. Thompson went through multiple checkups and scans to monitor the healing of a tear in his lat on the left side, and they did not show any setback to delayed Thompson's scheduled move to the injured list. On April 7, Thompson was transferred to the 60-day IL. Updated April 7