Some ugly weather might have done nothing more than push the celebration back a day.
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Jason Heyward hit a third-inning grand slam to power the Cardinals over the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-1 in the second game of a doubleheader, giving St. Louis its third NL Central title and 11th since 1994.
“The Pirates had a 1-0 lead after Walker”s second-inning homer, but Matt Holliday tied the game in the fourth.
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny brought Wainwright into a lower-leverage situation by design so he could acclimated to pitching in game action. Yet there he was pumping fastballs in the eighth inning with an eye toward heading back to his familiar starting role when the playoffs start next week.
Piscotty will have to go through MLB’s protocol by taking a head exam on Thursday, but if he’s cleared, he could return to the lineup sooner rather than later.
“I was disappointed; they had so many runners on base”, said Chris Tarpey, of Cranberry Township.
He’ll have to wait until at least Wednesday to watch his team celebrate a Central crown. Looking at the rest of the division, there is little doubt that the Cardinals have been dominant.
Pittsburgh, despite already assured of its best regular season record in more than two decades, won’t have the luxury of a breather as it tries to hold off the Cubs for the right to host the wild-card game.
The Cardinals got a great start out of Tyler Lyons in their division clinching win as he went seven shutout innings allowing just four hits while striking out five and not allowing a walk.
“The ultimate goal hasn’t changed, to win a world championship”, Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. More on him coming up. He’s shown that ability in September. Game 2 is set for this evening.
Wacha hasn’t been in top form of late, posting a 6.75 ERA while splitting his last four starts. He did not walk a batter and had five strikeouts.
He’s rarely been anything but on against the Pirates (95-62), though. 160 over his last eight games.
Piscotty’s improved condition wasn’t the only good news the Cardinals got after the announcement of Tuesday’s rainout.
While we know who is going to take the mound in that one-game playoff, it’ll be interesting to see who will make the postseason roster as a handful of guys deserve a spot.
The Cardinals can ease up for a week while the finish the regular season in Atlanta and await the victor of next Wednesday’s wild-card game between the Pirates and the Cubs.
The St. Louis Cardinals have activated pitcher Adam Wainwright from the 60-day disabled list, the team announced Wednesday. But, the Cardinals weren’t quite done scoring yet as Tony Cruz blasted a two-run home run. “Polanco doubled to the gap, extending the Pirates” lead to 6-1, but ended the inning when he overran second base and first baseman Mark Reynolds cut off the relay and put him out at second.
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ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Stephen Vogt hit a tiebreaking, two-run single during Oakland’s four-run rally in the seventh inning, and the Athletics hung on to stop Los Angeles’ seven-game winning streak.
