Seven innings of one-hit, shutout baseball tossed by starter Charlie Morton was not enough to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates (47-42) to victory in the opener of a four-game series at Busch Stadium on Monday evening.
In a game delayed briefly (twice) by rain, Cardinals 1B Matt Adams hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to break a scoreless tie, giving St. Louis (48-42) a 2-0 victory. They moved back into second place over the Pirates in the NL Central by half a game.
Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright had a no decision after seven innings in which he scattered 11 baserunners on seven hits, three walks and a hit batter. Pittsburgh went 0-10 with runners in scoring position, leaving 12 on base as a team.
In the final inning, Justin Wilson (2-1) relieved Tony Watson and issued a leadoff walk to Matt Carpenter. After recording an out, he served up the no-doubt homer to Adams, his tenth of the season. Pat Neshek earned the victory for St. Louis after pitching a scoreless top of the ninth against the top of the Pirates order.
Pittsburgh’s best chance to score was in the eighth when Jordy Mercer reached base on a fielding error by second baseman Kolten Wong that loaded the bases. At that point, Morton (7 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 5 K) was due to bat and was removed for pinch hitter Gregory Polanco. Left-handed rookie Sam Freeman struck him out to get out of the jam for the Cardinals.
The series continues tomorrow evening when Carlos Martinez (2-3) squares off against Vance Worley (2-1).
