THE BULLPEN

Play ball! Your first-place Pittsburgh Pirates are in St Louie tonight to begin a 3-game series. These are your keys to tonight's game. 1)The Pirates have beaten St Louie 10 out of 16 games this season. This is the last series between the two teams this year. Beat 'em like a rented mule! 2)The Pirates have hit a home run in 13 straight games. Chicks dig the long ball! 3)The Pirates send RH A.J. Burnett to the mound tonight. A.J. is 7-9 with a 3.09 ERA. For the season, he is 3-0 with a 2.59 ERA in 5 starts versus St Louie. A.J. will face RH Joe Kelly, 7-3, 2.82 ERA. Since joining the St Louie rotation, Kelly is 2-0 against the Bucs with a 0.75 ERA. He's due for a letdown. Give him plenty of the ol' Hit, Run, & Score! Woop, woop, woop! Standings Alert: The Pirates were idle yesterday but picked up ground on St Louie as they lost to Cincy last night. The Bucs lead St Louie by 1.5 and Cincy by 3. Let's Go Bucs!!!!!