MLB

Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals

· Major League Baseball
Pittsburgh Pirates
71-80, 33-40 Away
Final
1 - 3
St. Louis Cardinals
76-75, 41-35 Home

Lance Lynn keeps Pirates' bats quiet in 3-1 win for Cardinals

Lynn (7-4) allowed one run on four hits and struck out five. He is 9-0 over his last 21 starts at Busch, where he pitched for the Cardinals from 2011-17 before rejoining St. Louis this season. His last loss in the Cardinals' ballpark came on July 4, 2017, against Miami.

“Obviously, you don't ever want to lose at home,” Lynn said. “To have a season where you don't have a loss on your record at home is pretty cool.”

The Cardinals (76-75) are seven games out of the final NL wild card spot with 11 games remaining.

Bryan De La Cruz hit his 20th homer of the season, taking Lynn deep in the second inning. De La Cruz’s drive to the left-center bleachers traveled 431 feet and was his second for Pittsburgh after being acquired from Miami.

Ryan Fernandez pitched a scoreless seventh inning, and Matthew Liberatore retired three straight batters after surrendering a double to Nick Gonzales and a single to Bryan Reynolds to lead off the eighth.

“That didn't get away from him,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of Liberatore. “That is a very tough row for a lefty there, where we put him in. For him to get those outs and get out of that inning without giving up those runs, that was awesome to see.”

Ryan Helsley pitched a scoreless ninth for his NL-leading 45th save in 49 chances.

Bailey Falter (8-8) allowed two runs on four hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings. Nick Yorke got his first career hit, a single in the fifth, and finished 3 for 4 for the Pirates after making his major league debut a night earlier.

“I think any time you get your first hit, you go through your first game, there's so many emotions,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “You relax a little bit. Overall, in the first two games, there's been good at-bats. But I do think, you get your first hit and you breathe a little bit, and then we saw two really good swings after that.”

Pittsburgh lost for the fourth time in five games.

“We were a hit away at times or a pitch away at times, and we have to make that,” Shelton said. “Tonight, we had a couple opportunities late and weren't able to capitalize on it. We need to figure out a way to get that hitter or make that pitch."

Luken Baker had an RBI triple for the Cardinals in the third, and Walker put St. Louis ahead 2-1 in the fourth when he hit a 3-2 pitch from Falter into the left-field bleachers. Walker has four homers this season, all since he was recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Aug. 30.

“I feel good with my swing right now,” Walker said. “It's just a matter of what I'm swinging at. I'm not chasing, and then when they do give me a good pitch to hit, just swinging at it and driving it.”

Nolan Arenado had a sacrifice fly in the eighth for St. Louis.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: CF Oneil Cruz (left ankle discomfort) was held out of the starting lineup for a second straight game. He entered as a pinch-hitter in the seventh and struck out. ... RHP Kyle Nicolas was still feeling upper back soreness after departing Monday night’s game after facing just one batter, Shelton said.

UP NEXT

RHP Sonny Gray (13-9, 3.75 ERA) was set to start for the Cardinals Wednesday night in the third game of the four-game series. The Pirates had not named a starter.

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: 58.4%
Pirates: 41.6%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Grandal struck out looking.
9th Inning Yorke to second on fielder's indifference.
9th Inning Grandal hit for Cook
9th Inning Yorke singled to center.
9th Inning Triolo struck out swinging.
9th Inning De La Cruz flied out to right.

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
8 Ground Balls 10
10 Strikeouts 6
1 Runs Batted In 3
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
8 Hits 4
0 Stolen Bases 3
2 Walks 3
0 Catcher Interference 1
1 Runs 3
1 Ground Into Double Play 2
0 Sacrifice Flies 1
34 At Bats 27
1 Home Runs 1
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
15 Runners Left On Base 16
0 Triples 1
0 Game Winning RBIs 1
0 Intentional Walks 0
2 Doubles 2
16 Fly Balls 12
0 Caught Stealing 0
138 Pitches 121
0 Games Started 0
3 Pinch At Bats 0
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
0 Is Qualified In Steals 1
13 Total Bases 11
36 Plate Appearances 32
162.0 Projected Home Runs 162.0
3 Extra Base Hits 4
3.3 Runs Created 2.6
.235 Batting Average .148
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.382 Slugging Percentage .407
.206 Secondary Average .481
.278 On Base Percentage .226
.660 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .633
0.5 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.8
3.3 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 2.7
19.0 Batter Rating 28.5
34.0 At Bats Per Home Run 27.0
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 1.00
3.83 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 3.78
.147 Isolated Power .259
0.20 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.50
.056 Walks Per Plate Appearance .094
-.029 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .333
2.0 Runs Produced 6.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.4 Patience Ratio 0.5
0.3 Balls In Play Average 0.2
73.5 MLB Rating 74.5
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Busch Stadium

Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 30,562 | 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