The Pirates will try to continue their recent trend of brilliant baseball as they complete their series in sweltering St. Louis Sunday afternoon (2:15).
The Bucs finished the month of June with a 17-10 record. That included consecutive victories against the Cardinals on Friday and Saturday, with the Pirates piling up 14 runs in the first game and winning 7-3 on Saturday thanks in part to a Pedro Alvarez grand slam. They'll hunt for a sweep on Sunday.
On Sunday, Erik Bedard faces Jake Westbrook. The matchup looks somewhat favorable to the Cardinals, given that Bedard has faded since a brilliant April (with a 2.48 ERA that month, versus 6.58 in June). Westbrook, meanwhile, has pitched fairly well recently, picking up a quality start in his last outing, against Miami, and pitching a complete game against the Tigers right before that. But with the way the Pirates' offense has played recently, one never knows.
Bedard has 998 career strikeouts, so there's a strong chance he'll record his 1,000th career strikeout Sunday.
For more on the Pirates, be sure to check out Bucs Dugout. For more on the Cardinals, there's Viva El Birdos.