Pittsburgh Pirates Win In Extra Innings Again Vs. St. Louis Cardinals
By Larry Snyder
For the second night in a row, the Pittsburgh Pirates won in extra innings Sunday as they downed the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 at PNC Park. It was the Bucs 16th series victory this season before the All-Star break.
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The crew of the Jolly Roger have evened the score as they are now 5-5 in 10 games against the Redbirds. With their sixth walk-off victory this season, the Pirates are 53-35, and just 2.5 games behind the first place Cardinals (56-33). The Pirates are 14-5 in one-run games along the North Shore.
The Pirates were not going to be denied in the home half of the 10th as Jordy Mercer got the inning started with an easy line drive to left field off Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal. With two out, Starling Marte singled on a line drive to right that scored Mercer.
Jung Ho Kung moved Marte over to second base with a sharp line drive to right. Francisco Cervelli brought the game even with his ground ball single down the first base line to score Marte. The rally was kept alive as Travis Ishikawa drew a walk from Rosenthal.
The comeback was made complete when Gregory Polanco singled on a line drive to right that drove in Kang with the winning run. Rosenthal picked up his second blown save of the season as well as his second loss against one victory.
The Pirates captured their first lead of the game, 2-1, in the bottom of the second. This time with two out, it was Francisco Liriano who singled on a sharp line drive to right off St.Louis rookie starter Tim Cooney that drove in Cervelli and Polanco.
The Pirates first got the fans revved up by taking the lead in the fourth. Sean Rodriguez set the table by claiming his fourth double of the season on a line drive to right off Cooney. Polanco got the lead back by bringing Rodriguez home with a ground ball single to right.
Pittsburgh Pirates
It appeared in the top of the tenth that the evening might go to the Cardinals. With one out, Randal Grichuk ripped his 16th double of the season on a sharp line drive to center off Pittsburgh’s Arquimedes Caminero. The hit scored both Pete Kozma and Yadier Molina.
St. Louis first got on the scoreboard in the second when Mark Reynolds grounded into a double play that drove in Jason Heyward. Jhonny Peralta drew the game even in the third when he slugged his 13th home run of the season on a 421-foot shot to deep left field.
The meeting of the National League’s best was tied up again in the eighth. With one out and the bases loaded, Molina grounded out to third off the Pirates Tony Watson to bring home Kolten Wong.
Liriano did not back down the N.L Central leaders as he permitted just two earned runs on five hits over his six 1/3 innings for the Bucs. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound left-hander struck out six and walked four. The 31-year-old Liriano delivered 65 of his 108 pitches for strikes in taking on 26 Cardinal hitters.
Cooney gave up three earned runs on six hits over his five innings on the mound for the Cards. The 24-year-old left-hander struck out five and walked two in fencing with 22 Corsairs. He threw 48 of his 80 pitches for strikes.
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said to John McGonigal and Tom Singer on MLB.com after the game, “Last night’s was a classic game … the kind of game you watch 10 years from now. And now you back it up with another one.”
Up Next: After the All-Star break, the Pirates return to action on Friday for a three-game weekend set against the Brewers at Miller Park in Milwaukee. The Brew Crew will give the ball to 30-year-old Mike Fiers (4-7, 3.96 ERA/1.41 WHIP). The right-hander has collected 99 strikeouts over 100.0 innings pitched.
Pittsburgh will counter with 31-year-old Charlie Morton (6-2, 4.15 ERA/1.31 WHIP). The right-hander has 30 strikeouts over 52.0 innings pitched. The contest is scheduled to get underway at 8:10 p.m., and you can check out all the action on ROOT Sports Pittsburgh.
From The Clipboard: The game lasted 3:42, and there were 33,544 in the seats at PNC Park…The Bucs were 47-41 after 88 games last season…The Pirates are now 6-7 in extra inning contests this season…Andrew McCutchen saw his 18-game hitting streak come to a close Sunday against the Cards…Pittsburgh is 39-5 when outhitting the opposition.
Next: Pirates: Five All-Star Game Fun Facts