Pirates lose to Cardinals 3-2 at PNC Park on Fourth of July
Pedro Pages doubled home pinch runner Michael Siani and then scored on Alec Burleson's RBI single as the the St. Louis Cardinals edged the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 in 10 innings on Thursday.
St. Louis took two of three from its NL Central Division rivals by winning a series finale for the 12th time in its last 13 chances.
Burleson and Dylan Carlson had two hits apiece for the Cardinals. John King (3-1) retired Andrew McCutchen with the tying run on second in the 10th to pick up the victory for St. Louis, which improved to 30-17 since May 12, the third-best record in the majors over that span.
Bryan Reynolds hit his 14th homer of the season for Pittsburgh, who managed just seven hits total. Nick Gonzales provided an unusual sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th. Gonzales hit a drive to the notch in left-center field that St. Louis left fielder Brendan Donovan tracked down. Donovan, however, hesitated while getting the ball in, allowing pinch runner Michael A. Taylor to score from second.
Jared Triolo and Joey Bart followed later in the inning with consecutive two-out singles but McCutchen grounded into a fielder's choice to end it.
Dennis Santana (2-1) took the loss when Pages hit a liner to left-center that Taylor couldn't grab, scoring Siani. Burleson followed with a bloop that let Pages chug home from second.
The Cardinals went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base through the first nine innings, including two in the ninth when pinch-hitter Matt Carpenter struck out looking with the go-ahead run just 90 feet away.
Martin Perez worked in and out of trouble over 7 1/3 innings for the Pirates in his second start back from a month-long stay on the injured list with a left groin problem.
The 33-year-old left-hander retired the Cardinals in order just twice but consistently created soft contact when he needed it to get out of trouble, most notably in the sixth after Masyn Winn and Burleson led off with singles.
A cutter on the inside to Willson Contreras turned into a double play and another cutter at the bottom of the strike zone to Paul Goldschmidt froze the seven-time All-Star to end the threat. The typically reserved Perez celebrated with a fist pump on his way to his second-longest start of the season.
St. Louise starter Andre Pallante was every bit as good, his only wobble coming on a pitch to Reynolds leading off the fourth that Reynolds deposited in the shrubs behind the center-fielder wall. Pallante allowed just for hits while working a career-long seven innings, with five strikeouts and a walk.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Pirates: Placed rookie pitcher Jared Jones on the 15-day injured list on Thursday with a right lat strain. Jones, who will out until after the All-Star break, complained of discomfort in his right side while working five innings against the Cardinals on Wednesday. Pittsburgh called up OF Josh Palacios to take Jones' roster spot.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: Head to Washington for a four-game set with the Nationals starting Friday. Sonny Gray (9-5, 2.98 ERA) will try to reach the 10-win plateau for the sixth time in his career when he faces Washington's Patrick Corbin (1-8, 5.49).
Pirates: Welcome the New York Mets for a four-game wraparound series starting Friday. Star rookie Paul Skenes (4-0, 2.06) starts the opener against New York's Luis Severino (5-2, 3.42).