Pirates Blank Cardinals, Win Series
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates got great performances from their pitchers, as they held the St. Louis Cardinals scoreless, 5-0, to win Wednesday afternoon at PNC Park.
The win for the Pirates (52-50) gives them the series over the Cardinals (53-49), as they won the opening game Monday night. This is the fourth straight series they've won, including eight of their last 10 games and 10 out of their last 13 games.
Pirates starting pitcher in left-hander Martin Perez got himself into some trouble in the top of the second inning against the Cardinals, allowing a walk to center fielder Dylan Carlson and then a single up the middle to left fielder Lars Nootbarr, pushing Carlson to third base with two outs.
Perez managed to get out of the inning unscathed, after catcher Joey Bart looked to get Nootbarr stealing for second base. Pirates second baseman Nick Gonzales made a smart decision in the run down, throwing to third base, where Ke'Bryan Hayes tagged Carlson out.
The Pirates got things going in the bottom of the second inning, after Cardinals left-handed starting pitcher Matthew Liberatore hit Hayes with a curveball off of his foot.
Left fielder Joshua Palacios hit a pitch away and low and managed to hit it in between second baseman and center fiield for a single.
Liberatore struck out Bart, but Pirates first baseman Rowdy Tellez hit a single, scoring Hayes from second base and moving Palacios to third base.
Things are getting Rowdy. pic.twitter.com/7WV2PW6IPN
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 24, 2024
Center fielder Michael A. Taylor walked on four straight pitches to load the bases and then McCutchen worked a full count and walked to make it a 2-0 lead for the Pirates.
Gonzales would fly out to center field, but right fielder Connor Joe managed to double, as Carlson dropped the catch after making a dive. Joe's double scored both Tellez and Joe to increase the lead to 4-0.
CJ ALL DAY pic.twitter.com/zL139M60bw
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 24, 2024
Tellez smashed a pitch in on his hands over the right field wall, 447 feet, and into the Allegheny River for a solo home run to put the Pirates up 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning.
ROWDY TO THE RIVER 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/6yxZKeLtc2
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 24, 2024
This would end the day for Liberatore, who pitched just 3.0 innings, allowing four hits, five earned runs and three walks in the loss.
Perez got a double play against the Cardinals to open the fifth inning, but struggled when catcher Pedro Pagés and shortstop Masyn Winn both hit singles and then he walked right fielder Alec Burleson to load the bases with two outs.
He got out of the inning to keep the Cardinals scoreless, as he forced Willson Contreras to ground out to Hayes.
Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit a pitch up and away off the right field wall, just over the glove of Joe, getting onto second base with a double with one out in the sixth inning.
Perez continued to stay composed as he got both Brendan Donovan and Carlson to ground out to end the inning.
He finished his game after six innings, allowing no runs and four hits and five walks for a quality start.
Pirates right-handed reliever Carmen Mlodzinski came in for the seventh inning and would walk Pagés and allowed a single to Winn with one out.
He got Burleson to ground out, but Pagés and Winn moved to third base and second base, respectively. Mlodzinski then got Contreras to fly out to Joe, ending the seventh inning.
Pirates releivers in right-hander Colin Holderman and left-hander Aroldis Chapman both shut things down in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, as they each got double plays en route to the victory.
The Pirates will head out west for their next series, facing the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend. Opening game is Friday night, with first pitch set for 9:40 p.m. (EST)
DOMINIC CAMPBELL