Jhonny Peralta Homers Twice As Pirates Get Shut Out In St. Louis
By Josh Svetz
Apr 27, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta (27) runs the bases after hitting a solo home run off of Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Edinson Volquez (36) during the fifth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Sunday afternoon was not one to remember for the Pittsburgh Pirates, as after snapping a four-game losing streak Saturday, Pittsburgh was shut out by the Cardinals 7-0 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
Pirates starter Edinson Volquez struggled with the long ball, retiring by the sixth inning with six earned runs on seven hits and just two strikeouts. St Louis’ Adam Wainwright, on the other hand, pitched eight innings of shutout baseball, giving up just two hits and striking out seven.
The Cardinals wasted no time grabbing the lead early in the top of the first as a Matt Carpenter double followed by a Jon Jay bunt led to Matt Holliday‘s sacrifice fly and a 1-0 Cardinals lead.
In the 2nd, the Cardinals almost were able to put another run on the board as Yadier Molina hit a double and stole third, but was thrown out at home plate after Daniel Descalso‘s grounder went to Volquez, resulting in a rundown between Travis Snider and Molina.
After not much offense in the third and fourth innings, Jhonny Peralta woke the crowd up, hitting a solo shot out to left field, making the score 2-0.
In the sixth, the Pirates missed a big opportunity to put a run on the board. Wainwright finally showed some chinks in his pitching arsenal, hitting Jose Tabata on a bunt attempt and giving up a single to Pedro Alvarez. After Andrew McCutchen struck out, Neil Walker also whiffed to strand two.
This would prove to be costly for Pittsburgh. Volquez had only given up a few hits going into the bottom of the sixth, but Holliday and Matt Adams hit back-to-back one-out singles. Molina then reached to load the bases, but Adams was thrown out.
However, Pirates first baseman Ike Davis believed he had tagged first before Molina reached it. After replay it was determined that Molina reached base first, much to Davis’ and the Pirates’ displeasure. Allen Craig singled to bring home Holliday, but the worst was yet to come.
Peralta sent a three-run dinger to left-center, ending Volquez’s day and putting the Pirates in a 6-0 hole.
After holding out in the seventh, the Pirates again gave up a run in the eighth due to a Tabata error, letting Adams reach third and setting up Molina for a sac fly.
The Pirates ended up totaling just three hits in the loss. The usually-reliable McCutchen struck out twice and lost his hitting streak as he went 0 for 3.
The Pirates will look to come back strong Tuesday when they put Charlie Morton (0-3, 4.35 ERA) on the mound to attempt to get his first win of the season against the Orioles’ Chris Tillman (3-1, 3.38) at Camden Yards in Baltimore.