The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night, snapping their eight game losing streak with a 5-1 victory at PNC Park.
The Bucs have won four straight games against the Cardinals this season. They are 4-2 against their division rivals, and 11-32 against everyone else.
Steven Brault was magnificent on the mound for Pittsburgh, earning his first victory of the season while pitching a complete game. He gave up just one run on two hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. In a year that has been mauled by awful pitching, this was a sight for sore eyes for all Pirates fans.
The Cardinals scored their lone run of the game in the third inning on a RBI single by Tommy Edman. Pittsburgh responded in the fourth inning, taking control of the game with four runs. Gregory Polanco hit a three run homerun and Jacob Stallings doubled home a run. Josh Bell’s sacrifice fly in the fifth made it 5-1, which would be the final.
The Pirates were finally able to snap their losing streak. There’s no denying that this has been a disastrous season, but at this point, the Bucs have nothing to do but try to play spoiler to those teams vying for a playoff spot. As the season draws to a close, the Cardinals are certainly in that position, and losses to the Pirates prove detrimental to postseason hopes.
Record vs. Cardinals: 4-2
Record vs. N.L. Central: 13-19
Record at Home: 10-14
Overall Record: 15-34
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
