Edinson Volquez matched Adam Wainwright pitch-for-pitch on Sunday afternoon as he allowed the Pirates to stick around with the Cardinals enough to pull out a 2-1 victory in the final game of the Pirates opening series homestand.
Volquez was the sixth-straight Pirates starter to allow the lead-off hitter to reach base (Bonifacio 3 times, Carpenter 3 times) when Matt Carpenter singled into center. He followed by retiring the next 14 Cardinals before allowing a one-out single to Wainwright.
“I felt good from the beginning,” said Volquez. “From when I was warming up, everything was great, everything was under control. All my pitches in the bullpen were working and it carried over to the game.”
Carpenter would hit into a force out that Neil Walker and Clint Barmes were unable to turn into an inning-ending double play. That proved costly as Jon Jay followed with an RBI triple to tie the game at 1. Volquez intentionally walked Matt Holliday before being removed for Tony Watson. The 25,704 in attendance acknowledged Volquez’s strong start with a standing ovation as he walked to the dugout.
“It felt good, why not?” asked Volquez. “My first start in Pittsburgh and I think I did a great job today and the fans appreciated what I did.”
Watson took no time in getting out of the jam as he struck Matt Adams out on three-straight pitches. He came back out for the seventh and struck two more Cardinals out on way to a perfect outing for the reliever.
The Bucs would reward Watson’s work by taking the lead back in the seventh off of Wainwright. Pedro Alvarez led off the inning with his sixth walk of the season. Tony Sanchez would follow two strikeouts with an RBI double into the right-center field gap to make it 2-1 it’s his second game winning RBI this season.
When it comes to big at bats, you sometimes have to psych yourself out to come through.
“You have to lie to yourself that you will come through,” said Sanchez. “I haven’t had an AB in three days with Russ catching all these games and now they expect me to drive in this run. You gotta say hey, get the fastball, get your foot down early and be a hero and that’s how I talk to myself. Almost like tricking myself into believing that I’m ready for this when really I’m not. My head is spinning a million miles an hour, I got an ace in Adam Wainwright on the mound and I’m supposed to drive in Pedro from first with two outs in the seventh? Yeah, you trick yourself. Fake it till you make it.”
Mark Melancon and Jason Grilli rekindled the Mark and Cheese connection by working two no-hit innings to close the game out.
Final Score: Pirates 2, Cardinals 1.
Starter’s Lines
Volquez (ND): 5 2/3 IN, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 IBB, 4 K’s. 81 Pitches (53 Strikes).
Wainwright (L, 1-1): 7 IN, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K’s. 100 Pitches (65 Strikes).
The Pirates will have an off day tomorrow to travel to Chicago for a 3-game series beginning on Tuesday night at 8:05.
Tuesday’s Starters
(RHP) Charlie Morton (PIT): 0-0, 0.00 ERA
(RHP) Edwin Jackson (CHC): 0-0, 1.69 ERA
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(Photo Credit: Justin K. Aller / Getty Images)
