Pittsburgh Pirates series takeaways vs. St Louis Cardinals

May 24, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Francisco Liriano (47) delivers a pitch against the New York Mets during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Game Four: Francisco Liriano (5-6, 2.99ERA) vs. Tim Cooney (0-0, 3.95ERA)

Result: Pirates win 6-5

Winning Pitcher: Arquimedes Caminero (1-1, 4.12ERA)

Losing Pitcher: Trevor Rosenthal (1-2, 1.49ERA)

• What went right:
  • The Pirates shocked the Cardinals in extra innings for the second straight night. As they scored three in the bottom of the 10^th inning off of All Star, Trevor Rosenthal to win 6-5.
  • Francisco Liriano didn’t have his best stuff, but battled through 6.1 innings, allowed two runs on five hits, walked four and struck out six. He also did his job with the bat as he managed to get a two RBI single to put the Pirates in front early.
  • Gregory Polanco had a big game as he played the role of walk-off hero in the 10^th inning. He went 3-4 with two RBI and a run scored.
  • Jared Hughes and Antonio Bastardo both had holds out of the bullpen and did their jobs well.

• What went wrong:
  • Tony Watson wasn’t able to do his job in a very rare blown save. He allowed one run on one hit and one walk.
  • Arquimedes Caminero has struggled recently and had another poor outing. Despite earning the win, he allowed two runs on three hits.
  • Jordy Mercer had a fielding error.
  • Jung-ho Kang was caught stealing for the second time this series.

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Wow. That is pretty much the only thing you can say to describe this series. The Pirates were 9.5 games out of first place as recently as two weeks ago and they now enter the All Star Break only 2.5 games out after taking three out of four games against the Cardinals. The Pirates have played a lot of big games in the last few years, but I cannot think of any series that felt this magical. One extra inning comeback is special, but two is legitimately one for the ages.

PNC Park was electric as the fans wanted the wins just as bad as the players. There are no words that can accurately describe both Andrew McCutchen’s walk-off home run or Gregory Polanco’s walk-off single. They are two moments that fans will relive for a long, long time. The best part is we now have the All Star break, which means you can look back on those moments as much as possible before turning your attention to the Milwaukee Brewers and the start of the second half of the season.

Series result: Pirates win 3-1

2015 win/loss record: 53-35

2015 series record: 15-10-3

Next: Did the Pittsburgh Pirates whiff on the 2010 Draft?

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