Wednesday’s Game Report: Pirates 2, Cardinals 1
By Rob Rains
The Cardinals were in need of a well-pitched game and got it from Sonny Gray on Wednesday night – it just wasn’t quite good enough to get a victory because of another poor showing from the team’s batters.
The Pirates held the Cardinals to just four hits, all singles, and got just enough runs against Gray to pick up the victory at Busch Stadium.
Gray breezed through the first five innings on just 50 pitches, allowing only one hit, but ran into trouble in the sixth. A leadoff double preceded a walk and an error by Willson Contreras, and those were the two runners who scored on a bases-loaded single by former Cardinal Tommy Pham.
Gray allowed only three hits over seven innings, the first Cardinals starter to lose a game with that performance since Miles Mikolas suffered a 2-1 loss to Tampa Bay on June 9, 2022 when he allowed three hits over eight innings in another 2-1 loss.
The Cardinals were held to just three hits in their loss to the Pirates on Tuesday night and combined were 7-of-58 in the two games, a .121 average.
Here is how Wednesday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals gave Gray a 1-0 lead in the second. Masyn Winn singled with two outs in front of a walk to Thomas Saggese, and Winn then scored on a single by Pedro Pages … The other hits were a single by Ivan Herrera in the third and another single from Pages in the fifth … The Pirates retired 14 of the last 16 hitters for the Cardinals, with a hit batter and a walk providing the only two runners … The Cardinals struck out nine times, giving them 22 strikeouts in the consecutive losses to the Pirates.
On the mound: Gray issued three walks and struck out seven, needing 28 pitches to get through the sixth inning. One of the runs he allowed was unearned because of the error by Contreras, who made a bad throw to Gray covering first. Gray had to get out of a bases-loaded jam to keep the Pirates from adding to their lead … Matt Svanson worked two scoreless innings in relief, pitching around a walk in both the eighth and ninth innings.
Key stat: The Cardinals have now been held to four or fewer hits in 19 games this year, four of them against the Pirates. The Cardinals are 4-15 in those games, 1-3 against the Pirates.
Worth noting: John King went back on the injured list on Wednesday after just rejoining the Cardinals on Sunday. He said his felt pain in his back while throwing before Tuesday night’s game. Andre Granillo was recalled from Memphis after being optioned on Sunday … Victor Scott II (ankle) could begin a rehab assignment on Friday night at Springfield.
Up next: The Cardinals will try to earn a split of the four-game series against the Padres in the 1:15 p.m. game on Thursday. Miles Mikolas is the scheduled starter.
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