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Cardinals Look to Remain Unbeaten Against Pirates’ Paul Skenes

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By A. Kazmierczak | Last updated Jun 30, 2025 10:58 AM ET

Fresh off a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Guardians, the St. Louis Cardinals (47-38) now turn their attention to Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates (35-50).

The Cardinals sit in third place in the NL Central, two and a half games back of the division leading Chicago Cubs, and a half game back of the Milwaukee Brewers. As the calendar gets set to turn to July, the redbirds also occupy the third spot and final in the NL wild card race.

Despite bringing up the rear in the NL Central, the Pirates enter on a little heater of their own, sweeping the New York Mets over the weekend by outscoring them 30-4 in the three contests.

Monday, June 30, 5:40 p.m. CT

How to watch/listen: FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, KMOX 1120 AM/104.1 FM

Probable starters:

Cardinals: Erick Fedde (3-7, 4.11 ERA)

Pirates: Andrew Heaney (3-7, 4.48 ERA)

Tuesday, July 1, 5:40 p.m. CT

How to watch/listen: FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, KMOX 1120 AM/104.1 FM

Probable starters:

Cardinals: Andre Pallante (5-4, 4.43 ERA)

Pirates: Paul Skenes (4-7, 2.12 ERA)

Wednesday, July 2, 11:35 a.m. CT

How to watch/listen: FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, KMOX 1120 AM/104.1 FM

Probable starters:

Cardinals: Sonny Gray (8-2, 3.36 ERA)

Pirates: Mitch Keller (2-10, 3.90 ERA)

What to watch for:

1. Can the Cardinals remain unbeaten against Paul Skenes?

It might be hard to believe, but throughout his young career, Pittsburgh flamethrower Paul Skenes is 0-4 with a 2.76 ERA in five appearances against St. Louis. Two of those losses have come this year. The first on April 8 when he allowed five earned runs in a 5-3 loss, and the latest on May 6 when he was outdueled by Matthew Liberatore. No team has beaten Skenes three times in a season.

2. Can Erick Fedde right the ship?

In his last seven starts, Erick Fedde is 0-4 with a 5.09 ERA and 1.44 WHIP. The good news? Fedde has a career 2.05 ERA against the Pirates and threw six scoreless innings in his last start against them on April 9. A good outing in Monday's series opener could be huge for Fedde's confidence heading into July.

3. Andrew McCutchen is expected to break a personal record

Pirates veteran Andrew McCutchen is expected to start his 200th career game against the Cardinals on Monday, breaking a tie with the Cubs for his most starts against any team. He has played in 202 games against St. Louis during his 17-year MLB career, batting .266 with 19 home runs and 84 RBIs. This season, McCutchen is slashing .266/.342/.407 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs for the Pirates.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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