Gerrit Cole picked up where he left off against the Cardinals last postseason as he only allowed two runs — a Matt Carpenter 2-run homer — in seven strong as the Pirates defeated the Cardinals 12-2.
Pedro Alvarez gave his starting pitcher a cushion when he hit solo-shots in his first two at bats. An opposite field shot into the IC Light Seats in the second and a mammoth shot that cleared the right-center field seats and hit off the top of a shaved ice concession stand in the fourth. Travis Ishikawa would also hit one in the inning to make it 3-0.
Cole started his night by allowing a lead-off single to Carpenter that glanced off the glove of Ishikawa before retiring the next nine Cardinal hitters in only 33 pitches. He would encounter some trouble in the fourth when he allowed singles to Kolten Wong and Matt Holliday to start the fourth. Allen Craig, Yadier Molina and Jhonny Peralta would then fly out sharply to end the jam.
Cole encountered more trouble in the fifth when Cardinals starter, Shelby Miller singled with one out. Carpenter followed with a fly ball that cleared the Clemente wall to make it a 3-2 ballgame.
“The one pitch he would like to get back was the elevated changeup to Carpenter,” said manager, Clint Hurdle. “He barreled the changeup for a line drive out earlier, but that ball ended up in a spot he didn’t want to, but he competes. You’re going to have to beat him with a bat.”
He would settle down from there by only allowing two base runners (1 single, 1 walk) in his final 2 1/3 innings of work. The performance clinched another quality start by Pirate pitching, who is 4-for-4 in quality starts to begin the 2014 campaign.
“It was a struggle trying to get the ball, where it needed to go,” said Cole. “But we did it enough times and I guess the key to that is trying to stay aggressive and just keep going because you never know when it will start clicking and fortunately it clicked and I was able to go deeper in the ballgame.”
The Pirate offense would make sure Cole would get his first victory of the season by scoring nine runs over their final three innings at the plate. Alvarez got the rally started when he beat out a possible double play, stole second and scored on a Russell Martin single. The hustle play from the third baseman allowed the Pirates to score three times in the inning. Alvarez finished the night 2-for-4 with 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 Runs, IBB and a stolen base.
“Five out of six at bats before tonight I think got our attention, got my attention,’ said manager Clint Hurdle. “He finished up the extra inning game with a sharp single to left, he drove a ball to the wall that was caught and the first three at bats in the game yesterday. He squared the ball up to right-center, lined out again to left field. He’s been patient and he’s being stubborn with his approach. It paid off for him tonight.”
Bryan Morris and Justin Wilson would pitch scoreless innings to close the game out.
“It was just a really well-played ballgame on our part,” said Cole. “You can’t say enough about what Russ [Martin] did behind the plate. I think first and foremost, he deserves a lot of the credit. We made great plays all night. It’s just a good ballgame in general. We stayed aggressive, we stayed on them and didn’t let up.”
Final Score: Pirates 12, Cardinals 2.
Starter’s Lines
Cole: 7 IN, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K’s, 1 WP, 1 HR. 108 Pitches (73 Strikes).
Miller: 5 1/3 IN, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K’s, 3 HR. 87 Pitches (58 Strikes).
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(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
