Pittsburgh Pirates: Two-Game Winning Streak Snapped by Cardinals

Jun 26, 2021; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher JT Brubaker (34) pitches during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 26, 2021; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher JT Brubaker (34) pitches during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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After the Pittsburgh Pirates took the first two games of their four-game weekend series in St. Louis, long-time Pirate killer Adam Wainwright led the Cardinals to victory in game three on Saturday afternoon

As Mark Kaboly of The Athletic taught all of us a few weeks ago nine game sample sizes in baseball are not a small sample size, but rather something worth talking about! Entering Saturday afternoon the Pittsburgh Pirates owned a .556 winning percentage in their last nine games, going 5-4.

All joking aside, the Pittsburgh Pirates entering Saturday afternoon’s game in St. Louis having won the first two games of their four-game weekend series at Busch Stadium against the Cardinals. However, long-time Pirate killer Adam Wainwright played stopper for the Cardinals yet again on Saturday afternoon to lead the Cardinals to a 3-1 victory. Following the loss, the Pirates are now 28-47 on the season.

Another strong JT Brubaker start

JT Brubaker started for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday afternoon and turned in another strong start. While the Pirates lost on Saturday afternoon, Brubaker was far from the reason why the Bucs came up short.

The young righty gave the Pirates 6 strong innings of work on Saturday afternoon. Brubaker allowed just 3 runs on 6 hits, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. 2 of the 3 runs that Brubaker allowed came on solo home runs and he threw 67% of his pitches for strikes.

On the season Brubaker now owns a 3.82 ERA in 77.2 innings pitched in his 14 starts. Other than his 1.52 HR/9, all of Brubaker’s numbers this season are better than league average. His emergence as a building block for this starting rotation moving forward has been one of the biggest positives of the 2021 season thus far.

Not enough offense from the Bucs

Saturday afternoon was not a good day for the Pirate offense. The lone run they mustered was a solo home run by Gregory Polanco in the 4th inning. Outside of the Polanco solo shot the Pittsburgh Pirates collected just six other hits, only one of which, a Colin Moran double, went for extra bases.

The only real threat the Pirates had against Wainwright came in the 6th inning. Moran and Bryan Reynolds collected back-to-back singles to start the inning, but Wainwright retired the next three batters to escape the jam.

More good bullpen work

The bullpen continues to be a strength for the Pittsburgh Pirates. While the bullpen only had to pick up 2 innings of work on Saturday afternoon, it was 2 strong innings of work from Pirate relievers.

Chris Stratton pitched the 7th inning. While he walked a pair, he retired the other three batters he faced while picking up a strikeout. Quietly, Stratton could be come one of the most sought after relievers ahead of next month’s trade deadline.

In the 8th inning Derek Shelton summoned Geoff Hartlieb from the bullpen. In just his third outing of the season the hard-throwing Hartlieb retired the Cardinals in order. While it proved to be all for naught, this 1-2-3 8th inning gave the Pirates a chance to attempt to rally in the 9th.

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What’s next?

The Pittsburgh Pirates will look for a series victory on Sunday afternoon as they send righty Max Kranick to the mound for his first MLB appearance and start. The Cardinals are scheduled to send struggling righty Johan Oviedo (4.63 ERA, 5.46 FIP) to the mound. First pitch from Busch Stadium is scheduled for 2:15 PM ET.