Cards Snap 5-Game Skid with 3-1 Win over Bucs

The Cards played game three of the four-game series against the Pirates on Saturday, with Adam Wainwright taking the bump against JT Brubaker. Waino had another great start, going six strong innings with eight strikeouts, allowing just one run on a mistake to Gregory Polanco that went for a solo home run. Brubaker also pitched well but was tagged for solo homers by both Paul DeJong and Paul Goldschmidt as the Cards snapped a five-game losing skid with a 3-1 win.

1st Inning

Adam Frazier led off the game with a single to right field. Colin Moran popped a curveball to Yadier Molina in foul territory for the first out. Bryan Reynolds chopped a cutter to second for the second out, avoiding the double play as Frazier was running on the pitch. Gregory Polanco grounded out to second, stranding Frazier at second.

Dylan Carlson worked an eight-pitch plate appearance before drawing a leadoff walk. Paul Goldschmidt smoked an 0-2 slider back up the middle for a hit. Nolan Arenado swung over a slider away for the first out. Tyler O’Neill got jammed by an inside fastball, popping it into left for the second out. Yadi came in clutch with an RBI single to right, scoring Carlson from second to give the Cards a 1-0 lead and moving Goldy to third. Tommy Edman then grounded out to second to end the inning.

2nd Inning

Phillip Evans struck out waving at a cutter that ran off the plate to begin the second. Michael Perez drew a seven-pitch walk. Erik Gonzalez followed the walk with a single to right. Ka’ai Tom grounded into a fielder’s choice at second for the second out. Brubaker, with runners at the corners, froze on a fastball down the middle of the zone for the final out.

Lars Nootbaar flew an 0-1 curveball to right for the first out in the bottom of the frame. Paul DeJong blasted a hanging slider off the Big Mac Land sign for a solo shot, putting the Cards up 2-0.

Waino went down looking at a fastball at the knees for the second out. Carlson lined a 1-1 fastball into center field to close the inning.

3rd Inning

Frazier grounded out to second to start the third. Moran struck out looking at a fastball at the knees. Reynolds skied a curveball to Noots in right as the Pirates went down in order.

Goldy flew out to the wall in center for the first out in the bottom of the frame. Arenado sent a 3-2 sinker into the gap in right-center for a one-out double. O’Neill popped a first-pitch sinker into shallow center for out number two. Yadi drew a two-out walk on seven pitches but Edman lined a curveball to right to end the Cards’ threat.

4th Inning

Polanco tore a 3-2 cutter that was low and inside into the bleachers in right for a solo shot, bringing the score to 2-1. Evans and Perez both struck out and Gonzalez chopped to short for an otherwise quiet frame for Wainwright.

Noots popped a first-pitch curveball to second to begin the bottom of the fourth. DeJong flew a fastball to the warning track in right for the second out. Waino struck out swinging over a curveball as the bottom of the order went down quietly.

5th Inning

Tom chopped a sinker to first for the first out. Brubaker went down swinging and Frazier chopped a ball to short where DeJong made a nice play to get the out and put the Bucs down in order.

Carlson led off the bottom of the fifth with a popout to left. Goldy got a hold of a first-pitch fastball up in the zone and launched it 470 feet, over the lawn in center field, to extend the Cards’ lead to 3-1. Arenado followed the homer with a groundout to third. O’Neill then lined a sinker to short to close the frame.

6th Inning

Moran dropped a curveball into center for a base hit to begin the sixth. Reynolds singled to left as O’Neill came up just short on a sliding catch. Polanco struck out chasing a 3-2 cutter that ran low and inside for strike three. Evans also struck out, chasing a curveball in the dirt. Perez, with two on and two outs, popped out to center as Waino managed to escape the jam.

Yadi led off with a base hit to left field on an 0-1 fastball. Edman chopped into a fielder’s choice for the first out. Edman then was thrown out at second on what looked like a failed hit and run attempt with Noots at the plate. After missing the hit and run, Noots grounded out on a swinging bunt down the first baseline.

7th Inning

Gonzalez deposited a 2-0 sinker into center for a leadoff hit, ending Wainwright’s start. Genesis Cabrera got the call in relief and the Pirates responded by pinch-hitting Ke’Bryan Hayes for Tom. Hayes chopped a 3-2 changeup to Arenado, who made an aggressive throw to get the lead runner for the first out. Kevin Newman pinch-hit for Brubaker and rolled into a 6-4-3 double play to send the game to the bottom of the frame.

Chris Stratton relieved Brubaker in the seventh and walked DeJong. Matt Carpenter pinch-hit for Cabrera and flew a fastball to the warning track in center for the first out. DeJong swiped second on the first pitch to Carlson, who then struck out chasing an elevated fastball. Goldy worked a nine-pitch walk to extend the inning to Arenado, who popped up a hanging curveball for the last out.

8th Inning

Giovanny Gallegos got the eighth, as expected, and struck out Frazier to begin the frame. Moran followed and doubled off the wall in center. Reynolds got ahead in the count early but struck out swinging at a 3-2 slider. Polanco popped a ball down the line in shallow left where Arenado made a phenomenal over-the-shoulder catch to record the final out.

Geoff Hartlieb replaced Stratton for the Pirates in the eighth. O’Neill led off the bottom of the frame with a flyout to deep left field. Molina followed with another flyout, but to center. Edman chopped out to second as the Cards went down in order.

9th Inning

Alex Reyes came in for the save attempt for St. Louis and retired pinch-hitter Ben Gamel with a flyout for the first out. Perez grounded out back to Reyes for out number two and Gonzalez grounded out to third, sealing the 3-1 win for the Cardinals.

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The Cards improve to 37-40 with the win as the Pirates drop to 28-47. The series finale is scheduled for Sunday at 1:15 PM CT, with Johan Oviedo facing off against Max Kranick, who will be making his MLB debut for Pittsburgh.

Waino/Yadi Battery Tracker

Saturday’s game marks the 288th one in which Wainwright and Yadi have appeared as battery-mates, and they are now 19 appearances away from claiming third on the all-time list.

Final Pitching Lines

Cardinals

Wainwright (W, 6-5): 6 IP / 6 H / 1 R / 1 ER / 1 BB / 8 K / 1 HR

Cabrera (H, 10): 1 IP / 0 H / 0 R / 0 ER / 0 BB / 0 K / 0 HR

Gallegos (H, 12): 1 IP / 1 H / 0 R / 0 ER / 0 BB / 2 K / 0 HR

Reyes (S, 18): 1 IP / 0 H / 0 R / 0 ER / 0 BB / 0 K / 0 HR

Pirates

Brubaker (L, 4-7): 6 IP / 6 H / 3 R / 3 ER / 2 BB / 3 K / 2 HR

Stratton: 1 IP / 0 H / 0 R / 0 ER / 2 BB / 1 K / 0 HR

Hartlieb: 1 IP / 0 H / 0 R / 0 ER / 0 BB / 0 K / 0 HR