Game Summary
The Pirates re-asserted themselves today to take the game and series from St. Louis, somewhat returning the favor from the Cardinals recent visit to Pittsburgh. The Pirates took no quarter, outscoring the Cardinals 13-2 in the final two games of the set.
Dustin May and Braxton Ashcroft lead out in an early pitcher’s duel. Lowe and Herrera solo homeruns were the only early fireworks. May runs out of gas in the 6th and the deficit had built to 4-1 by the time Oli could get him out. The teams exchange late inning runs that do not alter the direction of the game. On the Pirate side, Ashcraft absolutely throttled the Cardinal offense, limiting them to 4 hits over 7 innings, with 9 K. Final score 6-2.
Pre-game notes
- The standard line-up with Pages catching and RHP on the mound, except Church is a late scratch, replaced by Fermin
- May on the mound for the Cardinals. Ashcraft for the Pirates.
- Recent articles decry the Cardinals loss of power. I think I’m more concerned about sinking OBP.
An early HR sets the tone
Brandon Lowe hits an oppo taco, right off the base of the foul pole. Seems like the shortest homerun distance possible in Busch Stadium. Ruled out-of-the-park by the umpires, could also have been an inside-the-park homerun as ruled by the Official Scorer. TBD. Otherwise, Dustin May started out sharp, with several early K’s and very under control pitch count. He benefits from the Pirates get-away day offensive approach, too.
On the Cardinals side, the offensive swoon continues, aided by a sharp Braxton Ashcraft, who matches May’s sharpness. It is, of course, a day game, which seems to enhance the offensive doldrums for this team.
The middle innings mostly quiet for both teams
In the third, Herrera provides very brief respite from his extended slump with a well-struck solo HR, tying the game 1-1. The Pirates small ball a run in the 4th to retake the lead. Single. Force-out. Stolen base. Single and another force out results in a run. The Cardinals are having a hard time keeping Griffin off base, although most of his batted balls have not left the infield this series.
The Pirates extend the lead
May seems to hit a wall in the 6th inning at around 80 pitches. Starting (as it so often does) with a walk. Followed by a Griffin double, then a two-run single by Ozuna, then another single by Mangum. May’s day is done. 4 runs in 5.1 IP. Graceffo again throws 1 pitch, gets a GIDP to end the uprising. Echoes of Seth Maness.
Bruihl gets tagged for a first pitch HR by slugger Henry Davis as he takes over in the 7th. That was a sign of things to come, as Cruz follows with a double, Lowe singles, and (who else?) Reynolds drives him in, extending the lead to 6-1. Svanson replaced Bruihl, and like Graceffo, threw one pitch to get out of the inning. Svanson worked the 8th uneventfully as well.
The bitter end
The Cardinals string a couple hits together in the 8th to cut the deficit on an RBI single by Jordan Walker but can’t extend the rally beyond.
Pushard closes down the 9th, but the Cardinals can’t muster any late inning heroics against Mason Montgomer, and fall 6-2.
Post-Game Notes
- Check out Today on the Farm – Thursday 5/21 for updates on MiLB action. More news on Nootbaar there.
- One thing is for certain. The Pirates can pitch.
- In this series, the Cardinals had a heckuva time with the bottom of the Pirates order. Those guys got 14 hits the last two games of this series, providing most of their spark.
- The Pirates choices on ASB challenges were interesting. They seemed to want to challenge early and often, resulting in them not having remaining challenges late in games. The early challenges were often low leverage (early in counts, no runners on), and most did not involve their catchers (and often unsuccessful). Surprised they haven’t cleaned that up. I see that as a reflection on the manager. Does he dismiss the value of ASB challenges? Is he not providing strategic direction to the players?
- One of the things I question … Pages is clearly physically compromised. I don’t know why they insist on having guys play through injury, especially when there are viable alternatives.
- I expect a roster change before tomorrow.
