Edinson Volquez became the first Pirates starter to pitch a complete game this season as the Bucs salvaged a game from the Cardinals 9-1.
Volquez only experienced a small amount of trouble in the third, fourth and ninth innings, but only allowed one run to cross. Kolten Wong began the third for the Cardinals (50-43) with a single. He then stole second, advanced to third on a sac bunt and scored on a Matt Carpenter sac fly.
The fourth and ninth innings both saw runners on first and second with one out, but Volquez was able to get inning-ending double plays to end things. He allowed only four other Cardinals to reach base during the game.
The Pirates (48-44) provided plenty of offense while taking advantage of some costly Cardinal errors. Andrew McCutchen started the scoring in the first when he singled with two out. He then proceeded to steal second and third before scoring on a Russell Martin single.
With the game tied in the fifth, the Pirates started to pull away. With runners on the corners and one out, McCutchen provided a RBI single. Neil Walker followed with a 2 RBI double to make it a 4-1 contest.
The Pirates scored four more times in the fifth thanks to some costly errors by the Cardinals defense. Josh Harrison made them pay with book-rule double with the bases loaded. Cardinals catcher Tony Cruz followed with a passed ball to allow another run to score and McCutchen ended the scoring in the inning with a sac fly.
Russell Martin provided a ninth inning solo home run to finish the scoring.
Final Score: Pirates 9, Cardinals 1.
The win brings the Pirates to within 3 1/2 games of the first place Brewers.
Starters Lines
Volquez (W, 8-6): CG, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K’s, 1 HBP. 114 Pitches (77 Strikes).
Miller (L, 7-8): 5 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 1 K. 92 Pitches (52 Strikes).
The Pirates will now travel to Cincinnati to begin a three-game series before the All-Star break begins.
Tomorrow’s Starters
(LHP) Jeff Locke (PIT): 2-1, 3.08 ERA
(RHP) Matt Latos (CIN): 2-1, 2.41 ERA
First pitch is set for 7:10.
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(Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire / USA TODAY Sports)
