When the fourth- and fifth-place teams in a division meet this late in the season, and the opener is a blowout, a secondary storyline can be a good diversion.
Welcome to the Palacios series.
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Josh Palacios is on the opposite side of younger brother Richie of the visiting St. Louis Cardinals, a first for them in the big leagues.
The initial mark on the chalkboard goes to Josh, who had five RBIs, including a three-run homer, and ended the game with a diving catch in left field Monday in an 11-1 win.
Richie, also an outfielder, notched a pinch-hit single in the ninth, fielded by his brother.
They did it in front of several family members and friends watching the National League Central teams.
"You couldn't have written it up any better than that," Josh Palacios told AT&T Sportsnet.
"Everybody was messing with me all day, so I just had to let them know who the big brother was."
The brothers were teammates on the Netherlands team in this spring's World Baseball Classic after playing winter ball together with Mayaguez in Puerto Rico.
With Pittsburgh outfielder Henry Davis going on the injured list on Monday (hand), Josh Palacios could remain in the lineup through the series. It remains to be seen if Richie Palacios will get a start.
On Tuesday, right-handers Adam Wainwright (3-8, 8.42 ERA) of St. Louis and Johan Oviedo (6-13, 4.55) of Pittsburgh are scheduled to start.
Wainwright is coming off a quality start - three runs allowed in six innings Thursday against the New York Mets - on the heels of his shortest career start, when he lasted just one inning. In fact, he had given up 15 earned runs in four-plus innings over two outings before the Mets game.
So the veteran, who is expected to retire at the end of the season, had a frank talk before his most recent outing — with himself.
"I've always pitched with a chip on my shoulder and this quiet kind of rage where I'm almost going to run through the brick wall without actually doing it," Wainwright said. "I need to be right on the verge of being angry without being angry because that makes me focus more.
"There were some things where I had to say, ‘I've lost that edge. I'm not mentally in the same place that I've been for 18 years. That's not acceptable, and I'm not going to pitch like that anymore.' I really worked hard at it, and I got that (edge) back."
Wainwright is 23-8 with a 3.72 ERA in 50 games (44 starts) against the Pirates.
On the heels of a personal three-game winning streak, Oviedo has lost back-to-back starts. He gave up four runs, five hits and five walks in four-plus innings Wednesday against the Mets.
Oviedo had control issues with his fastball.
"That was the only pitch that I couldn't throw for a strike. It was bad," Oviedo said. "I've been feeling great. The fastball just hasn't been there the last two games, so I've got to keep working on that."
Oviedo is 0-2 with a 2.65 ERA in three career starts against the Cardinals. That includes a loss April 14 in St. Louis when he struck out 10 and allowed one run in seven innings in a 3-0 Cardinals win.
—Field Level Media