The Pirates lost another heartbreaker Thursday, this time in 12 innings, as the St. Louis Cardinals closed to within 2 games of the NL Central leaders after their 5-4 victory.
In the rubber match between the two division rivals, it looked like it would be a pitcher’s duel early on with AJ Burnett taking the mound for the Bucs against Lance Lynn. Both starters had it going through the first four innings, with Burnett allowing just an infield single and a double.
Following disastrous fifth innings by both starters, in which the Pirates jumped out to a seemingly safe 4-0 cushion, only to see the Cards go ahead 5-4 in the bottom half, it became a chess match. Russell Martin tied the game in the eighth on a solo homer, but ultimately the Buccos would drop this one, 6-5, on a line drive single by Matt Holliday that drove in Matt Carpenter for the game-winner.
The loss was the Pirates’ fifth in their last six games, and allowed St. Louis to close the gap and saw Cincinnati creep to within three games as well. This game and series was disappointing for a lot of reasons, as both losses were littered with missed opportunities and mental mistakes by the Bucs.
Andrew McCutchen went 0 for 5 Thursday, as did Neil Walker. And both Alvarez and Marte struck out three times. The Bucs’ bullpen did hold it down until the 12th, and a good Cardinals team took a game at home that could have gone either way.
While it was a tough loss, it definitely was not the end of the world, or the end of their season. The Bucs still hold two- and three-game leads over the Cardinals and Reds, respectively. Although the Pirates could (should?) have won both games they lost in this series, the offense never stopped fighting and the defense and pitching kept them in every game.
Heading into the series, the Bucs held a 7-3 advantage over the Redbirds on the season, which included winning 4 of 5 at home in the most recent set. Bucs fans may be spoiled by this point in the season because so much has gone right for this team this year. There was bound to be a rough patch when they caught a few tough breaks.
Looking at Burnett’s rough inning, it is easy to be worried about him going forward. But Liriano had one of the worst outings by any pitcher this year then immediately came back and allowed one run in a complete game gem against the league’s best offense.
The Bucs will return home to PNC against a tough Arizona club still fighting for their playoff lives, and they will bounce back from the last two series and show the league and fans that they still belong, and they aren’t going anywhere.
(Photo Credit: Jason Miller/Getty Images)
