Up three games for the final wild-card spot, the Cardinals have the luxury of not overtaxing their young pitchers. They are doing just that by going to a six-man starting staff. St. Louis is pitching its sixth starter today, Daniel Poncedeleon.

The Pirates have a huge pitching edge as they are going with their No. 1 starter, Jameson Taillon. He has been outstanding since the All-Star break going 6-2 with a 2.48 ERA. Taillon hasn't given up more than three earned runs during his past 10 starts. He has a 1.88 ERA in his past four starts. Pittsburgh is 8-2 in his last 10 road starts.

So Taillon can be counted on to keep the Cardinals in check. The same can't be said for Poncedeleon holding down the Pirates. This only will be his fourth big league start. Poncedeleon last started 11 days ago and yielded three runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings against the Reds in a 4-0 loss.

The Pirates have scored five or more runs in five of their last six games.