NL CENTRAL STANDINGS

TeamW-LGBStrk
Brewers37-21-W3
Pirates33-285.5W4
Cardinals31-286.5L2
Cubs32-296.5L2
Reds31-297.0W1

AL WEST STANDINGS

TeamW-LGBStrk
Mariners33-29-W8
Rangers30-312.5W5
Athletics29-313.0W1
Astros27-356.0L2
Angels23-3910.0L3

RECENT RESULTS (LAST 10)

DateOppH/AResult
Jun 2TEXHomeL 4-7
Jun 1TEXHomeL 1-2
May 31CHCHomeW 5-1
May 30CHCHomeL 1-6
May 29CHCHomeW 6-5
May 27MILAwayL 1-2
May 26MILAwayL 0-6
May 25MILAwayL 1-5
May 23CINAwayL 0-0
May 23CINAwayW 8-1

STARTING PITCHERS

Andre Pallante (R) -- Cardinals

2026 to date: 5-4, 4.19 ERA, 58.0 IP, 46 K, 21 BB, 1.34 WHIP across 11 GS. 57 H allowed, 8 HR. 2026 K%: 18.3. 2026 BB%: 8.4. 2026 GB%: 58.9.

Pallante is an extreme ground-ball pitcher -- his 58.9% 2026 GB rate sits well above the 47.2% league mark, and his 18.3% 2026 K% sits well below the 22.1% league line. He pitches to contact and leans on the worm-burner to control the damage. The 1.34 WHIP says traffic is routine; the GB profile says traffic does not become big innings. Against a Rangers active pool that is 8 RHB and 5 LHB, the right-on-right alignment is the volume work, but Duran (1.007 2026 RISP OPS), Osuna (.978 RISP OPS), and Jung (.933 RISP OPS) are the high-leverage at-bats that decide whether the grounders find gloves.

MacKenzie Gore (L) -- Rangers

2026 to date: 4-4, 3.96 ERA, 61.1 IP, 65 K, 27 BB, 1.19 WHIP across 12 GS. 46 H allowed, 6 HR. 2026 K%: 25.3. 2026 BB%: 10.5. 2026 GB%: 39.3.

Gore is the structural opposite of Pallante. His 25.3% 2026 K% is above the 22.1% league mark, his 10.5% 2026 BB% sits above the 9.2% league line, and his 39.3% 2026 GB rate is well below 47.2 league -- a high-K, walk-prone, fly-ball lefty. The Cardinals get five right-handed bats against him (Herrera, Walker, Winn, Saggese, Pages) with the platoon edge, and the top of the order has the RISP firepower to punish a fly-ball mistake: Walker (.982 2026 RISP OPS), Burleson (.882), Wetherholt (.795).

EXPECTED LINEUPS

Cardinals (Projected from 2026-06-02)

#PlayerPosBats2026 RISP AVG2026 RISP OPS
1Wetherholt2BL.279.795
2HerreraDHR.200.700
3Burleson1BL.338.882
4WalkerRFR.304.982
5Gorman3BL.200.597
6WinnSSR.184.512
7ChurchCFL----
8SaggeseLFR.158.411
9PagésCR.121.379

Handedness: 5 RHB (Herrera, Walker, Winn, Saggese, Pagés), 4 LHB (Wetherholt, Burleson, Gorman, Church).

Rangers (From active roster)

13 players listed from active roster pool. Actual game lineup will be 9 from this group.

PlayerPosBats
OsunaLFL
NimmoRFL
Freeman3BR
JansenCR
CarterCFL
Duran2BR
Burger1BR
PedersonDHL
Jung3BR
Foscue2BR
HigashiokaCR
HelmanCFR
Lopez2BL

Handedness: 8 RHB (Freeman, Jansen, Duran, Burger, Jung, Foscue, Higashioka, Helman), 5 LHB (Osuna, Nimmo, Carter, Pederson, Lopez).

INJURIES & ROSTER NOTES

No injury or roster-move data is available for today.

KEY MATCHUPS & WATCHLIST

Jordan Walker vs MacKenzie Gore. Walker hits cleanup with the lineup-leading .982 2026 RISP OPS (.304 RISP AVG, .594 RISP SLG in 80 PA) and gets the right-on-left platoon edge. Gore's 39.3% 2026 GB rate is well below the 47.2% league mark -- more balls go in the air -- and Walker is the lineup's most likely barrel when runners are on.

Andre Pallante vs Ezequiel Duran. Duran owns the highest 2026 RISP OPS (1.007) in the Rangers' active pool and has been a recurring threat in this series. Pallante's 58.9% 2026 GB rate is the counter -- the matchup is whether the worm-burner can keep Duran's bat off the loft with runners aboard.

Andre Pallante vs Alejandro Osuna. Osuna carries a .978 2026 RISP OPS (.423 RISP AVG in 32 PA) and had the 6th-inning RBI single off May yesterday. He gets the left-on-right edge against Pallante; the ground-ball lean is again the answer, but Osuna's contact profile keeps the leverage at-bat live deep into counts.

Watchlist

-- Pallante's 58.9% 2026 GB rate. The widest deviation from the 47.2% league line in either rotation tonight. If Pallante keeps the ball on the dirt against the Texas RISP cluster (Duran 1.007, Osuna .978, Jung .933 -- 2026 RISP OPS), the Cardinals stay in the game.

-- Gore walks (10.5% 2026 BB%). Above the 9.2% league line, and the Cardinals' top three RISP slash lines all live in the top four of the order. Free passes into Walker's at-bat are how this lineup builds the inning.

-- Sweep avoidance. Texas leads the series 2-0 on a five-game winning streak. A third loss tonight closes the home set 0-3 and the Cardinals fall to L3.

-- Late-inning bullpen. O'Brien surrendered 3 R in the 9th yesterday. With Pallante's 18.3% 2026 K% pointing to contact and traffic, the Cardinals are likely to need clean middle-relief work to keep the game in reach.

QUICK REFERENCE -- IN-GAME QUERIES

1. How has Jordan Walker performed against MacKenzie Gore in their career?

2. How has Andre Pallante fared against Ezequiel Duran in their career?

3. How has JoJo Romero performed against Joc Pederson in their career?

4. What are Andre Pallante's third-time-through-the-order splits in 2025?

5. What are Alec Burleson's splits vs LHP in 2025?

6. How often does Ryne Stanek strand inherited runners in 2025?

7. What is the home run park factor at Busch Stadium in 2025?

700 CLARK -- POWERED BY BASES.CHAT | HISTORICAL DATA THROUGH 2025