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It has been a miserable start to the season for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

They’ve won just 12 of their first 35 games, sit in last place in the National League Central, and own the third-worst record in the majors. They’ve also been shut out a league-leading six times, including 4-0 against the San Diego Padres on Sunday.

And they’ve lost four straight games and seven of their past eight heading into the opener of a three-game series against the host St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night.

Pittsburgh’s offense has struggled mightily. The Pirates rank 28th in the majors in runs with 114, are tied for 28th with just 25 home runs, and rank 28th with an on-base-plus-slugging percentage of .641. As a team, they’re batting just .223, the fourth-lowest average in the majors, and have been unable to find any consistency at the plate.

It all has left manager Derek Shelton searching for answers as he tries to figure out how to get his team back on track.

“We’re mixing things up, trying different things,” Shelton said. “Right now we don’t have a formula, and we’ve got to figure it out.”

Injuries haven’t helped. Already without Nick Gonzales and Spencer Horwitz, Isiah Kiner-Falefa was added to the 10-day injured list on Saturday (retroactive to Thursday) with a right hamstring strain.

But even with players sidelined, those in the lineup know they have to find another level.

“I can hit better than I am, so there’s one,” said right fielder Bryan Reynolds, who is batting .232. “We obviously can. We’re just not.”

Carmen Mlodzinski (1-3, 6.58 ERA) will be on the mound for the Pirates on Monday. The right-hander is 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in eight career appearances (one start) against St. Louis. That lone start came on April 7, when he limited them to one run in five innings in an 8-4 victory.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, enter Monday’s game looking to win three in a row for the first time since opening the season with three straight victories.

St. Louis is coming off a doubleheader sweep of the New York Mets on Sunday, with a pair of one-run triumphs to claim the three-game series.

Cardinals center fielder Victor Scott II was key in the second game, going 1-for-3 with an RBI.

With the game tied in the fourth inning, he robbed Juan Soto of a three-run homer with a leaping catch at the wall.

The 24-year-old, who is riding a five-game hitting streak, has taken a step forward in his second year in the majors. After hitting .179 with two homers and 10 RBIs in 53 games as a rookie last season, he’s batting .286, with a pair of home runs and 15 RBIs through 31 games.

“Confidence is a big factor, and I feel like it comes down through my routine, and that starts early in the day,” he said. “But I feel like that’s kind of the product that I’ve been rolling out there, just really confident and I’m able to have fun.”

Right-hander Miles Mikolas (1-2, 4.66 ERA) is expected to start for St. Louis on Monday. He is 5-6 with a 2.90 ERA in 23 career appearances (20 starts) against Pittsburgh.

–Field Level Media