Pirates Take Rubber Game in 6-2 Win over the Cardinals
The Cardinal Chronicle
Pirates Take Rubber Game in 6-2 Win over the Cardinals
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
ST. LOUIS — The Cardinals got one swing from Iván Herrera, another late push from Jordan Walker, and not nearly enough in between Thursday afternoon at Busch Stadium.
Pittsburgh right-hander Braxton Ashcraft matched a career high with nine strikeouts and held St. Louis to one run over seven innings, leading the Pirates to a 6-2 win in the rubber game of the three-game series. The loss gave Pittsburgh the series and left the Cardinals with three losses in their last four games. (Reuters)
The Pirates struck first when Brandon Lowe opened the scoring with a solo home run off Dustin May in the first inning. St. Louis answered in the third when Herrera jumped on a first-pitch slider from Ashcraft and sent it into the left-center seats, tying the game at 1-1. (FOX Sports)
From there, the game tilted Pittsburgh’s way.
The Pirates took the lead for good in the fourth after Konnor Griffin reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second, moved to third on a Marcell Ozuna single and scored on Jake Mangum’s forceout. Griffin continued to be a thorn in the Cardinals’ side, extending his hitting streak to eight games and finishing the series 6-for-13. (Reuters)
The sixth inning broke it open. Spencer Horwitz walked, Griffin doubled, and Ozuna lined a two-run single to left to make it 4-1. May exited after Mangum followed with another single, ending a start that began with promise but unraveled in the middle innings. May took the loss, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out seven over 5 1/3 innings. (FOX Sports)
Pittsburgh added two more in the seventh against Justin Bruihl. Henry Davis led off with a solo homer, snapping an 0-for-16 stretch, and Bryan Reynolds later drove in Oneil Cruz with a groundout to stretch the lead to 6-1. (Reuters)
The Cardinals made a little noise in the eighth when Herrera singled, Alec Burleson followed with a base hit, and Walker drove in Herrera with an RBI single. But the inning stalled there, and Pittsburgh closed it out in the ninth. The Pirates finished with 10 hits, while the Cardinals had eight but managed only two runs. (FOX Sports)
Ashcraft was the story. The right-hander improved to 3-2, allowing just four hits and one earned run over seven innings. He gave Pittsburgh exactly what it needed after the Pirates had already shut out the Cardinals 7-0 on Wednesday night. Over the final two games of the series, Pittsburgh outscored St. Louis 13-2. (FOX Sports)
For the Cardinals, Herrera was the bright spot, going 2-for-4 with his sixth homer and both St. Louis runs scored. Walker’s RBI single gave the Cardinals their only run after the third inning, but the offense again lacked the sustained pressure needed to change the game.
The Cardinals opened the series with a 9-6 extra-inning win, but Pittsburgh took the next two games behind strong pitching and timely middle-inning offense. Thursday’s loss was not a blowout like Wednesday’s shutout, but it carried the same concern: St. Louis is not getting enough consistent production from the lineup right now.
One swing here and one rally there will not carry a club very far. Not when the other side is stacking innings, stealing bases, taking extra bases and getting seven strong from its starter.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports
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