Cards rally again to beat Pirates in extras

[April 04, 2019]  St. Louis scored twice in the top of the 10th inning Wednesday, getting one run on Tyler O'Neill's RBI single and another on a wild pitch, as the visiting Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 for a two-game series sweep.

With a 3-3 tie, Kolten Wong opened the St. Louis 10th with a triple off the wall in right against right-hander Nick Burdi (0-1). Harrison Bader walked, and O'Neill knocked in Wong on his infield single to make it 4-3.

Francisco Liriano replaced Burdi. Matt Carpenter flied out, and Paul Goldschmidt walked to load the bases. Bader scored on a wild pitch.

In the bottom of the 10th, Pittsburgh loaded the bases with one out against right-hander Alex Reyes on Francisco Cervelli's single, along with two walks. Right-hander Dakota Hudson entered and walked J.B. Shuck to make it 5-4 but got Erik Gonzalez out on a foul pop and Pablo Reyes on a groundout to earn his first save.
 

On Monday, the Pirates blew a 4-0 lead and lost 6-5 in 11 innings. Wednesday, they blew a 3-0 lead.

Bader and Paul DeJong homered for the Cardinals.

Pittsburgh's Adam Frazier was 3-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI single, Jung Ho Kang hit a home run, and Gonzalez had an RBI triple.

St. Louis starter Miles Mikolas lasted five innings, allowing seven hits and three runs, with two strikeouts and two walks. John Gant (2-0) pitched a scoreless ninth for the victory.

Pittsburgh starter Jameson Taillon gave up one run and three hits over seven innings, with five strikeouts and no walks.

Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas (39) delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the third inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Pirates scored twice in the second. Shuck got an infield hit and scored on Gonzalez's triple to the wall in right-center. One out later, Frazier's RBI infield single made it 2-0.

In the third, Kang hit a two-out homer to left to make it 3-0. It was his first home run since Oct. 1, 2016. He missed all of 2017 and all but a few games last year because of injuries and visa problems related to multiple DUIs in his native South Korea.

DeJong led off the seventh with a homer, his second, to left to cut it to 3-1.

In the eighth, Wong led off with a four-pitch walk off reliever Keona Kela and scored when Bader blasted a homer to center for a 3-3 tie.

--Field Level Media

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