Pittsburgh Pirates defeat Cardinals 5-2 behind Cole’s strong outing

The Pittsburgh Pirates took the second game of their four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals by a score of 5-2 on Friday night. After losing the first game of the series 4-1, this was a nice bounce-back win for the Pirates. Gerrit Cole took the hill and tossed seven innings of two-run ball, throwing 114 pitches in the process. Both runs came on a two-run home run off the bat of Matt Carpenter in the third inning. The Pirates, on the other hand, scored their five runs in four different innings.

Cole was opposed on the mound by Lance Lynn, who got his fifth loss of the season after giving up five runs in four innings of work on nine hits and a walk. Lynn threw 86 pitches in those four innings.

The Pirates scored first when Jordy Mercer doubled to score Neil Walker, putting them up 1-0. Matt Carpenter put the Cardinals up 2-1 with a 400+ foot home run that also drove in Thomas Pham, who was playing in center field for St. Louis last night. Jung Ho Kang tied the game in the third with a single that scored Gregory Polanco, and then Pedro Alvarez gave Pittsburgh the lead on another single that scored Kang. The Pirates wouldn’t relinquish that lead for the rest of the game. Neil Walker gave the Pirates some insurance with a two-run home run that also scored Chris Stewart, making the score 5-2 at that point.

Tony Watson and Mark Melancon would relieve Cole in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, securing the Pirates’ victory.

What Stood Out

The Pirate offense delivered after a night when it couldn’t. The offense accrued ten hits, including three from Neil Walker, who is having a great month of July with a .405 average this month, and two hits each from Mercer and Kang. Kang is filling in great at third for the Pirates since taking over for Josh Harrison. The Pirates are now 3-1 with Harrison and Starling Marte out of the lineup.

Schedule