The Pittsburgh Pirates opened their three-game weekend series with a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in extra innings on Friday night.
Mitch Keller was on the bump for Pittsburgh, and continued his late impressive stretch with another quality start. He gave up one run on five hits in six innings. Despite the no-decision, it was another solid performance on the mound for Keller, who appears to have put the troublesome mid-season stretch behind him.
Daniel Hudson was impressive on the mound for St. Louis, giving up one run on three hits in seven innings. Colin Selby earned the victory for Pittsburgh while David Bednar tallied his 20th save of the season.
Alfonso Rivas doubled in the top of the second, scoring Liover Peguero to give the Pirates an early 1-0 lead. The Cardinals ruined Keller’s chance of a victory in the bottom of the sixth when Willson Contreras hit a solo homerun, his 16th of the season, to center field.
The score remained tied until the top of the 10th, when Andrew McCutchen singled home Endy Rodriguez to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead. A wild pitch by JoJo Romero allowed Peguero to score from third, and Bryan Reynolds’ sacrifice fly scored McCutchen later in the inning to make it 4-1. A sacrifice fly by Paul Goldschmidt in the bottom of the 10th made it a 4-2 score, but that is as close as the Cardinals would get. Bednar and the Bucs closed the door on any chance of a comeback, sealing the victory.
This was a great start for the Pirates to this weekend. After a strong series in Kansas City, they appear to have carried the momentum onto St. Louis. Thomas Hatch will be on the mound for the Bucs on Saturday against Drew Rom for St. Louis.
Record vs. Cardinals: 8-3
Record vs. N.L. Central: 18-23
Record on the Road: 30-37
Overall Record: 62-73
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
