St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates - Game 86 open thread - July 9, 2015

The first-place St. Louis Cardinals (55-30) take on the second-place Pittsburgh Pirates (50-34) tonight in the first of their four-game series. After a slow start to the 2015 season, the Pirates have been playing great baseball. The Buccos have cut the Cardinals' lead in the Central standings to 4.5 games entering play this evening. Playing the Cubs is fun, but the Pirates are the Cardinals' chief competition in the division. With their current record, the Pirates would be in first place in any other division in the majors except the AL Central. They are very talented.

It's rainy in Pittsburgh, so we'll see if the elements impact the playing of the game.