Ivan Herrera’s Extra Inning Homer Gives Cardinals Walk-off Win Over Pirates
Apr 28, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter Ivan Herrera (48) hits a double against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the eighth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Matthew Liberatore had another strong start, but another not strong ending as he pitched 4 solid innings, but he would not finish the 5th inning as the game got away from him.
Fortunately, the Cardinals offense lead by JJ Wetherholt, Nolan Gorman, Alec Burleson and eventually Ivan Herrera picked him up beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-6, but it would take extra innings heroism to get it done. The Cardinals would score first as Pedro Pagés walked and then JJ Wetherholt put a charge into a 2-1 pitch from Mitch Keller and deposit it in the left-center field greenery giving St. Louis a 2-0 lead.
The Cardinals would add a run to that lead in the bottom of the 4th inning as Alec Burleson singled followed by another single by Jordan Walker . Alec advanced to third on Jordan’s single. Nolan Gorman then hit into a double play, but Burleson scored giving St.
Louis a 3-0 lead that wouldn’t last long. The first few innings of Matthew Liberatore’s performance was impressive and that included a career-high 9 strikeouts. It was the 5th inning that would be his nemesis again.
Lowe and Triolo singled to start the top of the 5th. Liberatore would get Davis to fly out to center for the 1st out, but then walked Gonzalez to load the bases. Matthew then unleashed a wild pitch that bounced off the backstop allowing Lowe to score from third base for the first Pirates run making it 3-1 Cardinals.
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