Pittsburgh Pirates come from behind, beat St. Louis Cardinals 7-5

The Pittsburgh Pirates came from behind Saturday night to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-5 in the second game of the teams’ weekend series. Vance Worley gave up five runs over five innings pitched, with all of those runs coming in the fourth inning. Carlos Martinez opposed Worley on the mound and gave up seven runs over 5.1 innings, as the Pirates scored three runs in both the second and sixth innings. The game ended in just two hours and 34 minutes in front of a crowd of more than 38,000 fans.

A wild pitch from Martinez scored Pedro Alvarez from third to open up the scoring, putting the Pirates up 1-0. The Bucs would plate two more in the inning to take an early 3-0 advantage. The Cardinals took the lead in the fourth inning by scoring five runs on six hits and two walks. In that same inning, Sean Rodriguez replaced Starling Marte in left field, who left the game due to dizziness. The Pirates answered in the sixth after Seth Maness relieved Martinez with one out and the bases loaded. A Jordy Mercer double and a pinch-hit Corey Hart sacrifice fly put the Pirates up 7-5, and the team wouldn’t give up another run in the game.

Four relief pitchers combined to shutout the Cardinals the rest of the way. Rob Scahill earned the win while Mark Melancon got his sixth save on the year.

What Stood Out

In the second inning, with Cardinals players at second and third, Yadier Molina hit a line drive up the middle. Neil Walker snagged the ball out of the air, then threw to third to get the second out. Jung Ho Kang, thinking it was the end of the inning, wandered around for a few seconds, then realized there were only two outs and threw down to second base to get the third out. The Pirates turned their second triple play in two seasons, and turned the first 4-5-5 triple play in major league history.

The Pirates’ offense continues to answer the bell, scoring at least five runs for the third consecutive game. With the way the Pirates’ pitchers have been pitching to open the season, five runs will win the team games most of the time. The hits Saturday night were spread throughout the lineup, but Kang secured two more and raised his average to .318 on the season while Pedro Alvarez was 1-2 with two walks.

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Rob Scahill has been a pleasant surprise for the Pirates so far this season. He’s only given up one earned run in 13.1 innings this year, and his ERA stands at a minuscule 0.68. Mark Melancon also continues to rebound from his early season struggles, as he now hasn’t given up a run in seven appearances since he imploded against the Chicago Cubs on April 21st. Steve Lombardozzi saw his second at-bat of the season, but couldn’t take advantage of it. He is 0-2 on the year.

What’s Next

The Pittsburgh Pirates (14-16) try to take their first series since sweeping the Arizona Diamondbacks at the end of April. Jeff Locke (2-2, 4.85 ERA) will pitch for the Pirates, while Tyler Lyons (0-0, 6.23 ERA) will make his second start of the season for the St. Louis Cardinals. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 PM at PNC Park.

Next: Pittsburgh Pirates lose series opener 8-5 to St. Louis Cardinals