At Busch Stadium, St. Louis

Scouting report: Andrew McCutchen, the Pirates' young, electric outfielder, was a late scratch from the lineup Thursday in Colorado because of a sore shoulder. The club listed him as day-to-day. McCutchen is hitting .293 with a team-high 21 steals. … Entering play Thursday, first baseman and outfielder Garrett Jones is the only Pirate with more than eight homers. He had 14 going into the Bucs' game at Coors Field. … Octavio Dotel's name floated through the trade rumors as a possible late-inning grab for a contending team. The righty had 21 saves in his first 26 opportunities. … The Pirates' 4.95 ERA ranked 27th in the majors, and their 341 runs scored before Thursday ranked 28th. The Pirates are one of two teams with an on-base percentage less than .300 on the road this season. They also have a puny .236 batting average away from PNC Park.

Projected pitching matchups

Tonight, 7:15: Chris Carpenter (11-3, 3.09) vs. Jeff Karstens (2-6, 4.72)

Saturday, 6:15 p.m.: Jeff Suppan (0-6, 6.18) vs. Daniel McCutchen (1-4, 8.58)

Sunday, 1:15 p.m.: Adam Wainwright (14-6, 2.23) vs. Zach Duke (5-9, 5.09)