It finally happened. After dropping their first five contests to the St. Louis Cardinals this season, the Pittsburgh Pirates picked up an 8-2 victory over St. Louis at Busch Stadium. Pittsburgh has struggled on the road as well this season, so to start a seven-game trip with a win is hopefully a sign of good things to come.
This was pretty much a complete team victory for the Pirates as they used offense, defense, and pitching to down the Cardinals. Starter Chad Kuhl was strong during his six innings of work on the mound. He would allow one run on three hits with two strikeouts and three walks. That lone run came in the second on a Lars Nootbaar RBI single to center.
Pittsburgh got their offense rolling right from the start of the game. Bryan Reynolds collected an RBI when he singled to right center. Ke’Bryan Hayes would score the second run of the inning when Colin Moran hit into a fielder’s choice.
The Pirates then began a barrage of home runs when Reynolds went yard with a three-run shot in the fourth inning. The next one would come off the bat of Adam Frazier in the sixth and one more would come in the eighth via Phillip Evans. Both of those would be of the solo variety. Moran would drive in the eighth run of the night with a single to left center in the eighth inning.
Chris Stratton started the bullpen work in the seventh by pitching a scoreless inning. Geoff Hartlieb collected the first two outs of the inning, but would load the bases and then hit a batter to give St. Louis their second run of the night. David Bednar got his team out of the jam by inducing a groundout to third. Bednar would come back out in the ninth and collect the final three outs of the game.
Road wins are a key component to a successful MLB season. While this team may still be well below .500 they have shown signs of brighter days ahead, this game is proof of that. The next step is stringing wins together. That is something Pittsburgh will try to do tomorrow night in game two of this four game series.
Record vs. Cardinals: 1-5
Record vs. N.L. Central: 8-22
Record on the Road: 11-25
Overall Record: 27-46
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
