MLB

Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals

· Major League Baseball
Pittsburgh Pirates
71-79, 33-39 Away
Final
0 - 4
St. Louis Cardinals
75-75, 40-35 Home

Andre Pallante outduels Paul Skenes to lead St. Louis to 4-0 win over Pittsburgh

“I'm very focused on me versus the hitters," Pallante said. “I'm just trying to pitch the best I can regardless of who I'm going against. He's a really good pitcher. You kind of know it's going to be a tight game, but I'm glad we pulled ahead."

Pallante (7-8) allowed four hits and one walk. Andrew Kittredge and Ryan Fernandez each pitched a perfect inning, finishing a four-hitter and the ninth shutout for the Cardinals this season.

“He just pounded the zone,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of Pallante. “He got ahead of everybody, and the slider was a big pitch for him. He landed that a ton."

Skenes (10-3) gave up one run and four hits in six innings with seven strikeouts and one walk, falling to 0-2 in three starts against St. Louis.

“I had to do some things I haven't done, necessarily,” Skenes said. “At this point of the season, they've seen everything, so it turns into playing the game of baseball. We had a good plan and executed it pretty well.”

Skenes’ 2.07 ERA is the second-lowest through a pitcher’s first 21 starts since ERA became an official statistic in both leagues in 1913, trailing only Steve Rogers’ 1.95 for Montreal in 1973 and 74.

“I think it speaks to how good he is,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “He's faced teams in the division multiple times, and they've gotten a look at him. He's made adjustments off it, using the fastball tonight, using the changeup.”

Skenes threw his 94th pitch of 100 mph or more, retiring Paul Goldschmidt on a grounder that ended a nine-pitch at-bat in the fourth inning. No other starting pitcher has thrown more than 40 pitches of at least 100 mph this season.

Nolan Arenado hit an RBI single in the fourth after Alec Burleson reached on a grounder to shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa that was originally ruled an error and then was changed to a hit.

Pedro Pagés greeted Colin Holderman with an RBI single in the seventh. Brendan Donovan had an RBI double in the ninth and Lars Nootbaar followed with a sacrifice fly.

“He's good, man.” Arenado said of Skenes. “I thought we battled pretty good. He made some great pitches. We found a way to scrap that game. Credit to Pallante who went out there and was pitching a great game for us."

Nick Yorke started at second base for Pittsburgh and went 0 for 3 with a stolen base in his major league debut. Yorke's contract was selected from Indianapolis and the Pirates optioned Alika Williams to their Triple-A farm team.

Yorke, 22, was the 17th overall pick by Boston in the 2020 amateur draft and was acquired from the Red Sox on July 30 for right-hander Quinn Priester. Yorke hit .355 with two home runs and 26 RBI in 40 games for Indianapolis.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: OF Oneil Cruz was held out of the lineup with left ankle discomfort that manager Derek Shelton says is related to his ankle fracture that caused him to miss a majority of the 2023 season. ... RHP Kyle Nicolas left with a member of the Pittsburgh medical staff after walking Goldschmidt, his only batter, leading off the eighth. Shelton said it was a left side injury but did not have any additional information.

Cardinals: C Willson Contreras (fractured right middle finger) will miss the remainder of the regular season.

UP NEXT

Pirates LHP Bailey Falter (8-7, 4.20 ERA) will face Cardinals RHP Lance Lynn (6-4, 3.96 ERA) Tuesday night.

How can I watch Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals?
  • TV Channel: Pirates at Cardinals 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Cardinals: 48.1%
Pirates: 51.9%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning De La Cruz struck out swinging.
9th Inning Joe flied out to left.
9th Inning Bart struck out swinging.
9th Inning Fernandez relieved Kittredge
8th Inning Pagés flied out to right.
8th Inning Saggese grounded into fielder's choice to third, Donovan out at home.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/pit.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originPIT https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/stl.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originSTL
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 0
12 Ground Balls 18
12 Strikeouts 8
0 Runs Batted In 4
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
4 Hits 7
1 Stolen Bases 0
1 Walks 4
0 Catcher Interference 0
0 Runs 4
0 Ground Into Double Play 1
0 Sacrifice Flies 1
31 At Bats 30
0 Home Runs 0
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
9 Runners Left On Base 19
0 Triples 0
0 Game Winning RBIs 1
0 Intentional Walks 0
1 Doubles 1
7 Fly Balls 5
0 Caught Stealing 0
124 Pitches 146
0 Games Started 0
1 Pinch At Bats 0
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
1 Is Qualified In Steals 0
5 Total Bases 8
32 Plate Appearances 35
0.0 Projected Home Runs 0.0
1 Extra Base Hits 1
0.0 Runs Created 2.6
.129 Batting Average .233
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.161 Slugging Percentage .267
.097 Secondary Average .167
.156 On Base Percentage .314
.318 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .581
1.7 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 3.6
0.0 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 2.8
7.0 Batter Rating 25.0
0.0 At Bats Per Home Run 0.0
1.00 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
3.88 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 4.17
.032 Isolated Power .033
0.08 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.50
.031 Walks Per Plate Appearance .114
-.032 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average -.067
0.0 Runs Produced 8.0
0.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.2 Patience Ratio 0.3
0.2 Balls In Play Average 0.3
58.8 MLB Rating 75.5
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Busch Stadium

Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 30,138 | Capacity:

2024 National League Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Milwaukee 93 69 .574 - L1
St. Louis 83 79 .512 10 W1
Chicago 83 79 .512 10 L1
Cincinnati 77 85 .475 16 W1
Pittsburgh 76 86 .469 17 L1
Full Standings