The Pittsburgh Pirates overcame an early deficit on Thursday night, rallying to an 11-7 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park.
After falling behind 7-1 early and trailing by four runs in the seventh, the Pirates erupted for 8 consecutive runs to claim the victory over their N.L. Central division foes.
Mitch Keller started for the Bucs and did not perform well, giving up seven runs on six hits and three walks in 5.1 innings on the mound. Chad Kuhl (4-6) earned the victory by pitching an inning of shutout ball. Miles Mikolas started for St. Louis, giving up three runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings.
Things did not start out well for Keller & the Bucs. Nolan Arenado blasted a two run homerun in the top of the first, followed by a two run double by Tommy Edman and an RBI single by Paul Goldschmidt in the second to make it 5-0 Cards. Pittsburgh responded with a run in the bottom of the second, but a two run homerun by Edmundo Sosa in the third made it 7-1. It looked like St. Louis was going to coast to victory.
But the Pirates battled back on this night, kick started by a two run homerun by Colin Moran in the third, making it 7-3. Then the flood gates opened in the seventh. A single by Bryan Reynolds scored a pair of runs to cut the lead to 7-5, and a two run single by Wilmer Difo tied the game. Gregory Polanco followed with a two run double to make it 9-7, and a monster two run homerun by Yoshi Tsutsugo made it 11-7, which would be the final score.
This was an exciting victory for the Pirates, and quite frankly, very surprising considering how the game began. Keller struggled on the mound after pitching very well in his previous start. But the offense fired on all cylinders and the Bucs are still trying to play spoiler against the Cardinals’ playoff chances.
The Cards & Bucs will meet back up at PNC Park on Friday for the second game of this four game weekend series on the north shore.
Record vs. Cardinals: 6-10
Record vs. N.L. Central: 16-41
Record at Home: 27-36
Overall Record: 47-81
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
