Pittsburgh Pirates Ride Power From Pedro Alvarez, Gerrit Cole In Rout Of Cardinals
With the exception ofNeil Walker‘s Opening Day walk-off home run, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ offense had been devoid of punch in the first three games of the season.
Game 4 was a little different, asPedro Alvarezlaunched two homers,Travis Ishikawahad one and the Pirates (3-1) pounded out 16 hits in a 12-2 home rout of the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.
Alvarez had only one hit, a single, previous to Friday, but last year’s National League home run champion put two over the PNC Park fences against St. Louis starterShelby Miller. The Bucco third baseman stroked an opposite-field dinger in the second and a 440-foot shot to center in the fourth. Three batters later, Ishikawa followed with his first as a Pirate to make it 3-0.
Apr 2, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez (24) singles against the Chicago Cubs during the thirteenth inning at PNC Park. The Pirates won 4-3 in sixteen innings. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Second-year Pirates rightyGerrit Colesurvived some hard contact early and a two-run blast over the Clemente Wall byMattCarpenterto go seven innings on a career-high 107 pitches. Cole struck out just three, but he induced 13 groundouts to keep the powerful Cardinals (2-2) at bay.
Starling Martekeyed the Pittsburgh lineup with a team-best three hits out of the leadoff spot, including a triple. Defending NL MVPAndrew McCutchenhad a three-bagger himself, a two-RBI gap shot to cap the Pirates’ five-run eighth.
McCutchen also added a single, whileRussell Martinhad two hits and drove in two. Slow-startingTravis Sniderpicked up a pair of singles as well.
While the eighth broke the game wide open, a strange three-run sixth created some separation. Martin drove in Alvarez with a sharp single up the middle, making it 4-2 Pittsburgh, but the fun was just starting. After Walker singled Martin to third,Gaby Sanchezpinch-hit for Ishikawa against relieverSeth Maness.
Walker took off for second on an apparent hit-and-run, but Sanchez couldn’t reach an outside pitch. St. Louis catcherYadier Molinapump-faked and threw to third to pick off a wandering Martin – except the ball hit Martin in the back and caromed away.
Martin scored on the play, while Cardinals managerMike Mathenyand Molina argued the obstruction was intentional. The umpires disagreed. Sanchez added a ground-ball single to plate Walker and make matters more comfortable at 6-2.
Six combined Pittsburgh runs in the seventh and eighth made the night even more joyous for what remained of 23,342 fans. The game began just past 8 p.m. following a rain delay, but the Bucs made the wait worth it.
The Pirates and Cardinals square off Saturday night on MLB Network.Francisco Lirianogets his second start of the year, looking to follow up his six shutout innings from Opening Day.