WILLIAMS SEES
SCORELESS STREAK HALTED AT 21 1/3 INNINGS
Kept quiet by Jack Flaherty and
the Cardinals' revamped bullpen, the Pirates didn't have many chances to score
in Sunday's 2-1 loss to St. Louis. Still, the weekend felt like a missed
opportunity.
Pittsburgh lost the three-game series to St. Louis, a direct
competitor in the standings, and has now dropped six of 10 games since reeling
off 11 straight wins to bounce back into the postseason race. The Pirates
provided further reason for optimism on Tuesday, acquiring Chris Archer and Keone Kela, but they
are 7 1/2 games out of first place in the National League Central and
five games out of the second NL Wild Card spot.
Now, they'll head out west for a critical road trip against
the Rockies, Giants and Twins. They're behind Colorado in the Wild Card
standings, and they're barely holding off San Francisco. Every game matters
this time of year, but this nine-game trip feels particularly important.
Pitching wasn't the problem for Pittsburgh on Sunday
afternoon at PNC Park. Right-hander Trevor
Williams, coming off three straight scoreless starts, extended
his shutout streak to 21 1/3 innings before allowing a pair of runs in the
fifth inning.
With one out in the fifth, Matt Carpenter belted
a 1-2 fastball from Williams to right field for his 29th home run of the
season. Williams was aiming to throw the four-seamer up in the zone, but it
headed south and Carpenter crushed his third homer of the series.
That was the Cardinals' only extra-base hit of the day, but
they scratched across another run on three singles in the fifth. Williams was
lifted for a pinch-hitter in the fifth, but the Pirates' bullpen allowed only
one hit and a walk the rest of the way.
The Pirates were in position to cut into their deficit in
the fifth. Adam Frazier led
off the inning with a double to center, and Jordy Mercer lined
a one-out single to left, putting runners on the corners. But Jordan Luplow,
pinch-hitting for Williams, swung on a first-pitch slider and grounded into an
inning-ending double play.
Frazier mashed a home run to right field in the seventh
inning off lefty reliever Chasen Shreve, slicing
the Cardinals' lead in half. After Mercer walked and Elias Diaz knocked
a pinch-hit single to right, Corey
Dickerson grounded into a forceout at second base to end
the threat.
MOMENTS THAT
MATTERED
MAN DOWN: DAVID FREESE has
been one of the Pirates' hottest hitters lately, batting .371 with a 1.072 OPS
over his last 22 games. He's also been one of their best bench bats this
season, hitting .292 with a .419 on-base percentage as a pinch-hitter. Freese
was out of the lineup on Sunday, but he was also unavailable off the bench due
to a right forearm contusion he sustained while playing first base on Friday
night.
Freese played through the injury on Saturday, but said it
"flared up" and "just started burning" on Saturday night,
so he didn't even attempt to swing a bat on Sunday. His absence became evident
as the game progressed. Luplow pinch-hit in the fifth with the tying run on
base. Josh Harrison pinch-hit
for third baseman Colin Moran in
the seventh, and Diaz entered the game to catch with Francisco
Cervelli moving to first base. Finally, Sean Rodriguez pinch-hit
with two outs and nobody on in the ninth.
SOUND SMART
Frazier's home run off Shreve was his first Major League homer against a
left-hander, as his first 11 came against right-handed pitchers. Frazier's last
homer off a lefty took place in 2015, when he was playing for Double-A Altoona.
Frazier is hitting .407/.429/.630 since his most recent callup.
ROSTER MOVES
CARDINALS: RHP
Tyson Ross was claimed off waivers from the San Diego Padres, and will join St.
Louis in Miami. He was 6-9 with a 4.45 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 22 starts for
the Padres this season.
PIRATES: RHP
Casey Sadler was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. RHP Alex McRae, who
allowed three runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings of relief Saturday, was
optioned to Indianapolis.
TRAINER’S ROOM
PIRATES:
Dickerson started in left field for the first time since missing eight games
with left hamstring discomfort. He hit leadoff and was 0 for 3 with one walk.
UP NEXT
CARDINALS: RHP Luke
Weaver (6-9, 4.75) will attempt to keep his string of impressive performances
going when he faces the Miami Marlins on Monday. He has surrendered three runs
or fewer in five straight starts since giving up eight in an 11-4 loss to the
Atlanta Braves on June 30.
PIRATES: RHP Joe
Musgrove (4-5, 3.63) will look for a third straight quality start when he takes
the mound against the Rockies on Monday. In his last two starts, Musgrove has
allowed three combined runs on 10 hits in 14 innings.
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