Gerrit Cole threw seven strong innings of work while allowing one run, but the Pirate bats remain dormant as they fell to the Cardinals 1-0 on Friday night.
Cole allowed a first inning run when Matt Carpenter led the inning off with a singled and scored on a Matt Holliday RBI double. He would settle down after that run by stranding 10 Cardinals on base causing them to go 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
That one run would,surprisingly, be enough for Cardinals starter Shelby Miller — he allowed five runs to the Pirates on April 4th and was 0-5 lifetime against the Pirates — who allowed three hits in 5 2/3 innings of work.
The Pirates did have a chance to get on the board in the eighth against Carlos Martinez when Starling Marte was hit by a pitch to start the inning off. Jose Tabata followed with a single putting runners on the corners with no out, but Marte would make a baserunning error on a Neil Walker ground ball back to the pitcher for the first out.
Martinez then gave the Pirates a gift by throwing wildly past the glove of Yadier Molina allowing the runners to advance to second and third which forced the Cardinals to intentionally walk Andrew McCutchen to load the bases.
Pedro Alvarez then struck out looking and Chris Stewart struck out swinging to end the threat. The Pirates went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring on the night.
Trevor Rosenthal would follow in Martinez’s footsteps by striking out the side to close the deal.
Final Score: Cardinals 1, Pirates 0
Starters Lines
Cole (L, 2-2): 7 IN, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K’s. 102 Pitches (62 Strikes).
Miller (W, 2-2): 5 2/3 IN, 3 H, 4 B, 4 K’s. 97 Pitches (56 Strikes).
These two will be back at it tomorrow afternoon at 4:05.
Tommorow’s Starters
(LHP) Francisco Liriano (PIT): 0-3, 4.22 ERA
(LHP) Tyler Lyons (STL): 0-1, 3.00 ERA
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(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
