PIRATES FALL TO CARDINALS 8-4

The Pirates upgraded their pitching staff at the non-waiver Trade Deadline by acquiring a top-of-the-rotation starter, Chris Archer, and another closer, Keone Kela, for the back end of their bullpen. But a series of short starts left them vulnerable on Saturday night, and the Cardinals took advantage.

After right-hander Ivan Nova gave up four runs in four innings, rookie Alex McRae entered a tie game in the fifth and allowed three runs in the Pirates' 8-4 loss to the Cardinals at PNC Park. The Bucs are now 7 1/2 games behind the National League Central-leading Cubs and four games out of the second NL Wild Card spot.

Over the last three games, Pittsburgh's rotation has pitched only 9 1/3 innings: one by Nick Kingham on Wednesday, 4 1/3 by Archer on Friday and four by Nova on Saturday. The Cardinals wore down Nova, piling up eight hits and three walks while making him throw 92 pitches to record 12 outs.

His abbreviated outing put manager Clint Hurdle in a bind when Adam Frazier tied the game, 4-4, in the fourth inning with a two-run double to left field. The Pirates had to cover five innings, and they had to do it without right-hander Edgar Santana after he threw 35 pitches in Friday's 7-6 victory.

Pittsburgh has four other high-leverage relievers, but they also pitched on Friday, and taking the mound on Saturday likely would have made them unavailable for Sunday's series finale. Hurdle could have turned to Richard Rodriguez in a tie game, though he would have wound up using McRae or Dovydas Neverauskas anyway if the Cardinals had regained the lead.

So Hurdle handed the ball to McRae, part of a new-look front end of the bullpen. Out went Tyler Glasnow (traded in the Archer deal) and Steven Brault (optioned to Triple-A) along with Michael Feliz (also demoted), among others who have struggled to lock down a permanent bullpen role. In came McRae and Neverauskas.

McRae immediately served up back-to-back doubles to Jose Martinez and Jedd Gyorko, giving the Cardinals a lead they wouldn't relinquish. He then allowed a single to Wong, and Harrison Bader hit a run-scoring groundout that made it 6-4.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals' bullpen shut down the Pirates' lineup after Pittsburgh's three-run fourth. The Bucs managed only one hit and a walk, both in the eighth, in the final five innings against right-handers Dakota Hudson, Mike Mayers and Bud Norris.

McRae provided length for Pittsburgh's bullpen, working into the eighth inning and giving the Bucs' back-end quintet a night off. Neverauskas retired the first four batters he faced before giving up a two-out homer to Matt Carpenter in the ninth inning.

SOUND SMART

The Pirates had won 14 straight games when scoring the first run, as they did in Saturday night's defeat. David Freese connected on a 3-1 fastball from Austin Gomber and belted it into the right-field seats to lead off the second inning, giving the Bucs a 1-0 lead.

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After Wong doubled with one out in the second inning, Bader hit a line-drive single to right field. Gregory Polanco fired the ball to catcher Elias Diaz, who quickly threw to shortstop Jordy Mercer to catch Bader in a rundown. When Wong broke for home, Mercer delivered the ball back to Diaz, who tagged out Wong at the plate.

TRAINER’S ROOM

CARDINALS: RF Tyler O’Neill (groin discomfort) was scratched just before game time and replaced by Martinez. . OF Dexter Fowler (broken left foot) was placed on the 10-day disabled list. He was examined by team doctors in St. Louis on Saturday and will wear a walking boot for one month then be reevaluated. Fowler was removed in the eighth inning of Friday night’s 7-6 loss to the Pirates after fouling a ball off the foot.

PIRATES: OF Corey Dickerson was activated from the 10-day DL and flied out as a pinch-hitter. INF/OF Christopher Bostick was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. . With 1B Josh Bell (strained left oblique) on the DL, C Francisco Cervelli made his first start at first base since 2016 and went 2-for-3 with a walk while handling 10 total chances flawlessly.

VAN SLYKE FETED

Retired five-time Gold Glove-winning outfielder Andy Van Slyke threw out the ceremonial first pitch on his bobblehead night. Van Slyke played for both the Cardinals (1983-86) and Pirates (1987-94).

UP NEXT

CARDINALS: RHP Jack Flaherty (4-6, 3.49 ERA) starts Sunday and the rookie is 1-4 with a 4.03 ERA in his last nine starts.

PIRATES: RHP Trevor Williams (9-7, 3.89 ERA) has pitched a combined 17 scoreless innings while winning his last three starts.