Dunlap: 5 Things To Look For In Pirates Series Against Cardinals

No one needs to remind you of the importance of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at Busch Stadium as the Pirates --- fresh off a sweep of the Dodgers --- head in to take on the NL Central-leading Cardinals for a three-game set. As play began this week, the Pirates (65-44) were five games back of St. Louis (71-40) as this pennant chase, by any measure, has officially begun.

That said, here are five things to keep an eye on over the three games in St. Louis:

+ How's Frankie?: Pirates left-handed starter Francisco Liriano is slated to start the final game of the series but despite hitting a home run in his last outing --- the first extra-base hit of his career that concluded with a home run trot that took 17 minutes --- he looked incredibly not himself. He allowed four runs on seven hits and walked two and looked as if he was battling through some sort of physical ailment. Liriano has fought off a minor neck problem in the recent past and his health headed into that Thursday series finale is something to keep close tabs on.

+ Everything Is All Right: With the Cardinals scheduled to throw Carlos Martinez, Michael Wacha and Lance Lynn --- all righties --- it would seem Pedro Alvarez would have a chance to get all the starts in this series at first base. While Alvarez shouldn't have trouble at the plate, his much-publicized tribulations in the field have haunted him (and the club) at times. It will be interesting when manager Clint Hurdle --- especially if the games are close --- decides to lift Alvarez for defensive purposes as the innings get late. You can't afford to have errors, but you can't afford to sit home run threats, either.

+ Which Cutch Will Show Up: The Pirates' Andrew McCutchen comes in red hot, with 14 hits in his last 10 games and nine hits in his last five. But for some reason, he has struggled this season against the Cardinals. In the 10 games the Pirates have played in 2015 against the Cards, Cutch is hitting just .222 and has struck out 10 times. As always, McCutchen is paramount to the Pirates' success. Which McCutchen will show up in this series; the one who has worked his way into MVP consideration or the one who has struggled against the Cardinals this season?

+ Cole Train Back On Track?: Pirates right-hander Gerrit Cole has been absolutely lights out this season, but was a tad off in his most recent start against the Dodgers. Cole is at a 2.39 ERA with a 14-5 record and in July worked at least seven innings in all his starts. He has been downright nasty. But there was that speed bump against the Dodgers this past weekend where Cole worked six and gave up three earned and, admittedly, didn't have his best stuff. Nonetheless, even Cole's not best stuff is pretty darn disgusting. All that said, he's going to need close to his best stuff more than likely in his start on Wednesday against the Cardinals and Michael Wacha to give his team the best chance to win.

+ No Oops Moments: If there's been one weak spot for the Pirates this season, it has been baserunning. This club should turn Benny Hill music on the loudspeakers when they run bases, as their attempts at navigating the 360 feet has been more than a comedy at times. Against a team that has as many wins as the Cardinals do, and in games where making gaffes could really be the difference, the Pirates simply cannot afford to have flubs on the basepaths. In a way, they almost should lean to the side of caution.

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