The Pittsburgh Pirates were eliminated from playoff contention last week, but they appear determined to head into the offseason on a high note.

The Pirates (80-77) will seek their season-high sixth straight victory on Wednesday night when they continue a three-game series against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals (76-81).

Jared Jones and two relievers combined on a one-hitter in Pittsburgh's 2-0 win in the series opener on Tuesday. The Pirates broke a scoreless tie with two outs in the sixth inning on Ryan O'Hearn's RBI single.

St. Louis was stymied at the plate by Jones, who lowered his ERA to 1.08 in four September starts and allowed one hit with nine strikeouts and no walks over seven innings.

"(The Pirates) pitch really well," St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said. "They have a lot of arms in the rotation and the bullpen. We ran into one today; Jones did a really nice job. Lot of swing and miss. We couldn't put a whole lot in play against him."

The Pirates have gone 15-6 in their last 21 games and are two wins away from finishing a season with a winning record for the first time since going 82-79 in 2018.

Catcher Rafael Flores Jr. has reached base safely in 15 consecutive games for the Pirates, who have set a single-season franchise record with 181 home runs.

While Pittsburgh will miss the playoffs for the 11th straight season, O'Hearn said the pieces are in place for a promising future.

"This definitely feels like a group to build off of," O'Hearn told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I'm not the GM; I don't make those decisions in the offseason, but it definitely feels like a group that's building together moving forward. Doesn't feel like the end. I've been on teams where it kind of felt like the end of an era type of thing, but this feels like a team that you want to build forward with."

The Pirates will use a bullpen game on Wednesday, with right-hander Lake Bachar (1-4, 3.56 ERA) getting the start.

Bachar pitched an inning as the opener on Sunday, allowing one run on three hits against the Kansas City Royals. He is 0-2 with a 2.92 ERA in 13 games since being acquired from the Miami Marlins on Aug. 3.

St. Louis will counter with left-hander Matthew Liberatore (5-14, 5.36 ERA), who pitched six innings of one-run ball in a no-decision against the San Francisco Giants last Wednesday. St. Louis lost 6-5 in 10 innings.

Liberatore, 26, has struggled to build on his success from last season, when he posted a 4.21 ERA over 151 2/3 innings.

"It's certainly not the season I wanted or the season anyone was expecting me to have," Liberatore said. "But I'm grateful for what I've gone through this year. I think it's really forced me to understand myself better and understand my identity and what I need to do to be successful at this level."

Oneil Cruz is 4-for-17 (.235) and Bryan Reynolds is 6-for-18 (.333) with a home run against Liberatore, who is 2-4 with a 5.60 ERA in 12 career games (eight starts) vs. Pittsburgh, including 0-1 with a 6.10 mark in two outings this season.

--Field Level Media