Cardinals bounce back, avert sweep vs. Pirates
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[June 26, 2017]
ST. LOUIS -- For 5 1/2 innings
Sunday night, it looked like more of the same for the St. Louis
Cardinals.
Mistake pitches, untimely errors and not enough offense against a
2-6 starter put them in a two-run hole and in danger of being swept
at home by the Pittsburgh Pirates for the first time in 20 years.
However, Randal Grichuk provided a monstrous power surge, Trevor
Rosenthal threw three big pitches to extinguish a seventh-inning
rally, and Pittsburgh offered plenty of help in the Cardinals' half
of the seventh.
It all added up to an 8-4 St. Louis win that snapped a three-game
losing streak and capped a day in which the Cardinals churned nearly
a quarter of their roster, mostly because of injury-related moves.
"We take it however we can get it," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny
said. "We had good situational hitting tonight, and we stacked hits
together."
That was particularly true in the sixth and seventh innings, when
the Cardinals (34-40) erased their deficit against Chad Kuhl and
three relievers who couldn't get the big outs to keep the game
within reach.
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Grichuk, recalled from recalled Triple-A Memphis before the game,
led off the sixth with the second-longest homer in Busch Stadium III
history, a 478-foot rocket that landed halfway up the third deck in
left field. His fifth homer of the year sliced Pittsburgh's lead to
4-3.
Kuhl left after Yadier Molina doubled to left-center. Tony Watson
got two quick outs, but pinch hitter Jedd Gyorko laced a ground-rule
double to right-center that tied the score.
The Pirates (35-41) pushed the tiebreaking run to third with two
outs in the seventh. Elias Diaz singled and moved around the bases
on two infield outs.
Matheny hooked Matt Bowman and went with Rosenthal to face Josh
Harrison, who was 3-for-4 against Bowman but 0-for-8 when facing
Rosenthal. Three blazing fastballs later, Harrison was 0-for-9 and
the game remained tied.
"We had a short sample with Bowman and a little bit more with
Rosenthal," Matheny said of the move. "To me, that was a big moment
in that game."
In contrast to Rosenthal (2-3), whose roughly 90 seconds of work
earned him a win, Pittsburgh relievers Juan Nicasio (1-4) and Jhan
Marinez made a mess out of the inning's bottom half.
Nicasio walked Tommy Pham and Stephen Piscotty to start the inning.
After Grichuk fanned, Molina, who wasn't in the original lineup but
was inserted into an amended one about two hours before first pitch,
poked a tiebreaking single into right for his third hit of the
night.
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![](../images/062617pics/sports67.jpg)
Cardinals third baseman Greg Garcia (35) hits a two-run single
during the second inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch
Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports
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Shortstop Jordy Mercer booted Aledmys Diaz's grounder
to score Piscotty for a 6-4 lead. Marinez relieved Nicasio,
wild-pitched the runners to second and third, then coughed up a
two-run single to Paul DeJong past a drawn-in Mercer.
"We weren't able to make pitches," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle
said. "We weren't able to execute the fastball for the most part or
the slider. Just too many pitches when you get up to 30 pitches, and
the two walks painted (Nicasio) in a bad corner."
The game's one remaining moment of suspense occurred two batters
after DeJong's hit. St. Louis-area native Luke Voit, one of three
call-ups from Memphis, made his major league debut as a pinch
hitter.
With most of the audience of 43,719 chanting his first name, Voit
ran the count full and then was drilled by a 96 mph fastball in the
back. As he jogged to first, a national TV audience saw his parents
pump their fists in the air in joy.
"I didn't feel it," a grinning Voit said. "Honestly, I was smiling
going down to first base."
Kuhl permitted eight hits and four runs in five-plus innings,
walking one and fanning six. Cardinals starter Mike Leake also got a
no-decision after going six innings and giving up six hits and four
runs, three of them earned. He walked two and struck out two.
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Adam Frazier lined a two-run triple in a three-run third for
Pittsburgh, which finished a seven-game road trip at 4-3.
NOTES: St. Louis CF Dexter Fowler (right heel spur) and LHP Kevin
Siegrist (cervical spine strain) each landed on the 10-day disabled
list Sunday. 1B Luke Voit and RHP Mike Mayers were called up from
Triple-A Memphis. The Cardinals also optioned OF Chad Huffman to
Memphis. ... Pittsburgh 2B Josh Harrison was hit by a pitch
Saturday, the major-league-leading 16th time he took first base with
a bruise for his trouble. He has been hit five times in the last
seven games. [© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All
rights reserved.]
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