(My Sportsbook) - The St. Louis Cardinals will attempt to rebound from a tough beginning to their 2009 campaign in tonight's matchup with the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium.

St. Louis appeared to be on its way to an Opening Day win on Monday, but the Pirates reached rookie closer Jason Motte for four runs in the top of the ninth inning to rally for a 6-4 victory in the first of four straight games between the teams.

Motte, who earned the ninth-inning role with an excellent spring, came in to protect a 4-2 lead but was tagged for three doubles and an RBI single in the final frame. The biggest blow came from shortstop Jack Wilson, who gave the Pirates a 6-4 advantage with a three-run double with two outs in the ninth.

Ryan Ludwick had given St. Louis a 3-2 edge by starting the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run off of Tyler Yates, and the Cards tacked on another run later in the frame on David Freese's sacrifice fly.

John Grabow picked up the win for Pittsburgh after getting the final two outs of the eighth, with Matt Capps tossing a scoreless ninth to notch the save.

Nyjer Morgan also made a strong contribution to the Pirates' win, as the leadoff hitter collected three hits and a pair of RBI in five at-bats. Adam LaRoche finished with two hits, including a key run-scoring single off Motte in the ninth.

Ludwick finished 2-for-5 with two RBI for St. Louis, while reigning National League MVP Albert Pujols had three hits on the afternoon.

Both starting pitchers performed well in their first outings of the year. The Pirates' Paul Maholm threw the first 6 2/3 innings and held the Cardinals to just two runs, while St. Louis' Adam Wainwright allowed two runs and fanned seven Pittsburgh batters in 5 1/3 innings of work.

The Cardinals aim for a quick turnaround tonight behind Kyle Lohse, who has enjoyed plenty of previous success when facing Pittsburgh. The right-hander is 3-0 with a 2.06 earned run average over five lifetime starts and one relief appearance versus the Bucs, having yielded just nine runs over 39 1/3 innings in those games.

Lohse gave quite a few other teams trouble during a breakthrough 2008 campaign that saw him deliver a 15-6 record and a 3.78 ERA over 33 starts. He was at his best pitching at Busch Stadium, where the 30-year-old posted a stellar 8-2 mark and a 3.32 ERA in 18 mound trips.

The Pirates counter with Ian Snell, who turned in a highly disappointing 2008 season. Opponents hit .304 against the hard-throwing righty last year, with Snell winning just seven of 19 decisions and finishing with a subpar 5.42 ERA.

The sixth-year major leaguer won 14 games for Pittsburgh in 2006 and was strong on the mound the following season, recording a solid 3.76 ERA and striking out a career-best 177 hitters.

Road games proved to be Snell's undoing last year, as the 27-year-old produced an awful 4-8 record and a 6.22 ERA in enemy parks. In three Busch Stadium starts in 2008, Snell went 1-1 with a 6.60 ERA and permitted 23 hits in just 15 innings.

For his career, Snell is 4-4 with a 4.92 ERA through 14 appearances (13 starts) against St. Louis.

Pittsburgh finished in the NL Central basement a year ago, but the club did fare well when facing the Cardinals. The Pirates won 10 of 17 meetings with St. Louis in 2008 and five of the nine matchups held at Busch Stadium.