Cardinals-Pirates Preview

In what has turned out to be a disappointing season for the reigning World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, the emergence of Rick Ankiel has been one of the lone bright spots.

Ankiel, once the Cardinals' top pitching prospect, looks to cap his breakout season as an outfielder in the Cardinals' finale Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Ankiel was second in the NL Rookie of the Year Award voting in 2000, when he won 11 games with a 3.50 ERA and 194 strikeouts. But problems with his control and with elbow injuries forced Ankiel to try his hand as an outfielder. He hit a home run and drove in three runs in his major league debut in the outfield on Aug. 9.

Since that date, Ankiel leads the Cardinals (77-84) with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs. Teammate Albert Pujols, the NL MVP in 2005, has eight homers and 29 RBIs in one more game than Ankiel in that stretch.

Ankiel homered and drove in three runs on Saturday as St. Louis beat Pittsburgh 7-3. The Cardinals have won four in a row -- their longest win streak since a season-high five-game run Aug. 11-16.

They'll try to match that streak Sunday in what could be the final game for St. Louis manager Tony La Russa. La Russa, whose contract expires at the end of this season, said Friday that he'll go home to think for a few days before he decides whether or not to return for another year.

For the Pirates (68-93), Saturday's loss was their third straight and 12th in 14 games. They'll finish in last place in the NL Central for the second time in three seasons.

Pittsburgh will likely be without shortstop Jack Wilson on Sunday. Wilson left Saturday's game after colliding headfirst with Pirates second baseman Matt Kata in the sixth inning. He was taken off the field on a cart, then taken to a hospital for evaluation.

"In the ambulance, Jack was awake," new Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said. "He seemed to have all of his faculties about him, but we're waiting for the results of the diagnostic test before we say anything further."

La Russa is unsure who he will start Sunday. Kip Wells (6-17, 5.81 ERA) was scheduled to start for St. Louis, but the manager indicated he would prefer to use Wells as a reliever.

Other options include Anthony Reyes (2-14, 6.04), Mike Maroth (0-5, 10.66) or even Troy Percival (3-0, 1.85). Percival has made 638 career appearances, but none as a starter.

Bryan Bullington (0-2, 6.00) will start for the Pirates in search of his first major league win. The right-hander made his first start in the majors Sept. 6 against St. Louis, giving up five runs in three innings to suffer a 16-4 loss.

Bullington lost his only other start Sept. 11, but hasn't allowed an earned run in two relief appearances since then. He gave up an unearned run in one inning out of the bullpen in the Pirates' 13-8 defeat against the Chicago Cubs last Friday.