PITTSBURGH — Right-hander Jeff Karstens will take the mound tonight against the St. Louis Cardinals for the first time in nearly two weeks. Karstens did not make his last two starts due to right shoulder soreness.
“Anxious for him and for us,” Manager Clint Hurdle said. “His time down, he did his work, feels good. He has the ability to slow down a big swing offense, a high power offense. Today he is going to have to be sharp to do that. He’s going to have to pitch down, change speeds forward and back.”
Karstens allowed five runs on nine hits in 3.2 innings and lost a 7-4 decision to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium his last start on August 28th.
“It will be interesting to see exactly how good he feels, what the velocity plays out too, the quality of his pitches,“ Hurdle said. “He’s confident that he’s in a good place to go out and pitch. He’s looking forward to it.”
There will be no limitations on Karstens tonight, Hurdle stated, but he also won’t be able to pitch deep into the game either.
“I don’t think 100 pitches Is in the future, we’ll have to see,“ Hurdle said. “He’s been away almost two weeks.”
Karstens will be making his 25th start of the season tonight. The Pirates will be one of the first National League teams in 2011 with five pitchers making at least 25 starts (the Texas Rangers are currently the only other Major League team with that distinction and the Brewers and Mets are expected to join the list tonight). Only four other times in club history have the Pirates had five pitchers make 25 starts in one season (1997, 1984, 1976 and 1925).
The right-hander will also make his next scheduled start on the 19th and the team will determine his next step from there. Karstens has posted a 9-8 record with a 3.32 ERA this season.
Photo credit: Yahoo! Sports
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