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MLB: St. Louis Cardinals Defeat Phillies, Prepare for Pittsburgh Pirates

By Dustin Murrell
Published on: 22:23 PST, May 5, 2016

Carlos Martinez is scheduled to start for the St. Louis Cardinals as they begin their three-game series with NL Central rivals Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday. The Cardinals are currently one half game behind the Pirates in their division, while Pittsburgh is 6.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs, the division leader and overall best team in Major League Baseball. While Martinez recently made headlines due to sexual assault allegations from a woman in Florida, the MLB isn’t taking an active role in the investigation, and it shouldn’t have any impact on Carlos’ play – at least not for the series against Pittsburgh.

St. Louis is coming off of winning 3 out of 4 games against the Philadelphia Phillies at Busch Stadium. Coming after they were swept at home by the Washington Nationals, the winning series against the Phillies came as the Pirates were swept by the Chicago Cubs, keeping the Cards and Pirates neck-and-neck for second place in the NL Central.

Francisco Liriano (2-1) will be starting for the Pirates (15-13) as Martinez (4-1) starts for the Cards (15-14).

Cardinals vs. Phillies

The Cardinals went 3-1 in the four-game series against the Phillies, helping boost them back into contention with the Pirates in the National League Central Division. Over the course of the four games, the Cards outscored the Phillies 19-8.

Heading into their series with the Cardinals, the Phillies had the longest winning streak in the MLB at 6 games, trying to catch their division leader, the Washington Nationals. At 16-13, the Phillies are now fourth in the ultra-competitive NL East.

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Cards vs. Pirates

So far this year, Pittsburgh is 3-0 against St. Louis. Liriano pitched for the Pirates, winning the first Cards-Bucs game of the season on opening day, April 3. This will be Martinez’s first game against Pittsburgh this season.

The Pirates will be looking to break a four-game losing streak. Prior to being swept in a three-game series at home by the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh lost the final game in their series at home against the Cincinnati Reds. The game will also mark the return of Jung Ho Kang, who has been out seven months for Pittsburgh.

Carlos Martinez sex scandal

Martinez speaks very little English, so his interpreter has been answering some non-baseball-related questions lately. A woman from Palm Beach, Florida is suing Martinez for allegedly giving her sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) after promising her that he was clean. Because it is a civil case and not a criminal case, the MLB will not be getting involved.

While the woman is asking the Cardinals pitcher for $1.5 million, his lawyer assured the press that “the allegations are 100 percent false.”

Where to Watch

The St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (Game 1 of the series) is set for Friday, May 6. Plenty of tickets are still available for purchase for all three games of the Cards-Pirates series directly through the Cardinals’ website to watch the Cards vs. Pirates live at Busch Stadium. Friday’s game is scheduled to begin at 7:15 PM CST, while both Saturday and Sunday’s match-ups will be afternoon games, scheduled to begin at 1:15 PM CST.

All three games between the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates will be televised regionally on FOX Sports Midwest.

[Photo by Getty Images/Dilip Vishwanat]

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