Not Even Skenes Can Stop Skid; Pirates Swept By Cardinals
PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes could not play the role of stopper as the Pittsburgh Pirates were swept in a four-game […] The post Not Even Skenes Can Stop Skid; Pirates Swept By Cardinals appeared first on Pittsburgh Baseball Now.
Photo provided by Matt Lynch PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes could not play the role of stopper as the Pittsburgh Pirates were swept in a four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals with a 10-5 loss on Thursday afternoon at PNC Park. Scoring Plays Top 1st, 3-0 STL: JJ Wetherholt stayed hot and hit a leadoff home run off Paul Skenes (4-2).
Later in the inning, Jordan Walker hit a two-run home run to left field to extend the lead. Top 3rd, 4-0 STL: The Cardinals (18-13) took advantage of a Konnor Griffin error on a throw from short to first when Nolan Gorman singled home Alec Burelson from second base with two outs. Bottom 4th, 4-1 STL: The Pirates (16-16) got on the board when Spencer Horwitz drew a two-out walk with the bases loaded against Hunter Dobbins.
Top 5th, 5-1 STL: After Wetherholt advanced to second base on a Skenes wild pitch, Burleson poked the bat out on a pitch well off the plate and dumped it into shallow left for an RBI single. Bottom 5th, 5-3 STL: Dobbins walked a pair of batters in the fifth and gave way to Justin Bruihl, who surrendered a two-run double to Bryan Reynolds that brought the Pirates within two. Bottom 7th, 5-4 STL: Brandon Lowe connected on his eighth home run of the season, a solo shot to right field off left-hander JoJo Romero.
Top 8th, 10-4 STL: The Cardinals blew it open with a five-run inning. Nathan Church missed a home run to right-center by half an inch, instead settling for a two-run double off Isaac Mattson. Chris Devenski relieved Mattson with traffic on the bases and allowed two more runs to score.