Andrew McCutchen hit his 20th homer of the season for Pittsburgh and Adam Frazier added a solo shot but by then it was far too late. The bullpen kept the Cardinals in check and Watson quickly retired the first two hitters in the ninth and had Carpenter – who came in 2 for 17 against Watson – down 0-2 before everything changed.
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“I don’t think we’ll get any questions about fight and battle”, he said. “We’ve got a team that I don’t think anybody wants to match up with, especially in a post-season scenario”. It’s a fun team to play on.
“That’s what he made a living off of, being a pinch-hitter, and he’s given a really good approach to our young players who pinch-hit a lot and even us veteran guys who have been around”, Carpenter said. They moved to within 4 1/2 games of the Cardinals (73-65) in the chase for a National League wild-card spot.
Kang had two home runs for Pittsburgh and Jordy Mercer hit a two-run double in the fifth as the Pirates took advantage of some sloppy defense by the Cardinals to overcome an early five-run deficit. Only the Orioles (218) have gone deep more often.
Pittsburgh Pirates’ Josh Harrison (5) scores around the tag of St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina during the first inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016.
Cardinals rookie reliever Alex Reyes (1-1) had been cruising until he ran into Kang and he struck out six in his 3 2/3 innings in relief of Mike Leake.
The Cardinals finished with five home runs in all, including Matt Adams’ 436-foot drive over the seats in right field that plopped into the Allegheny River on the bounce.
St. Louis’ National League record-tying run of 25 games with a home run ended.
Hot Coffee- Outfielder Gregory Polanco broke an 0-for-18 hitless streak with an RBI single Tuesday night and followed it up with a two hit performance Wednesday night.
Jonathan Villar homered to start a five-run first inning, and the Brewers cooled off the Chicago Cubs with a 12-5 victory.
“He gets the bunt down”, Matheny said, “we get a run”. “He’s been tough against us”.
Though having to survive the winner-take-all Wild Card Game is hard – and that is the route the Cardinals will have to take if they get into the postseason – Carpenter believes the Cardinals will be a tough out in October because they have so many hitters capable of breaking a game open.
But Milwaukee rallied from a 1-0 deficit as its first seven batters reached against Hammel (14-8). His ERA went up from 1.79 to 1.89.
On Tuesday, Carpenter hit the first of three ninth-inning homers, sending Watson and the Pirates to 9-7 loss. With his 55th and final pitch, Williams whiffed Jhonny Peralta with a high heater and stranded Molina, who had doubled leading off the eighth, at third.
Ichiro Suzuki pulled a two-run homer to right in the eighth inning to cut the Phillies’ lead to 4-3.
“You’re in your head thinking about what you need to do, you’re not seeing the ball, you’re not swinging at strikes”, Moss said. It was that kind of night for the Detroit Tigers.
GIANTS 3, ROCKIES 2 Kelby Tomlinson hit a one-out, tiebreaking single in the ninth and San Francisco rallied to beat host Colorado. “That’s part of it”. The Cardinals remained true to their season by going 5-4 on the road trip, opening up a 4½-game lead on the Pirates but losing ground to the Mets (74-66).
ORIOLES 11, RAYS 2 Manny Machado capped a six-run fourth inning with a grand slam off Jake Odorizzi, leading Baltimore over host Tampa Bay. “We just have to keep going”.
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First pitch is set for 5:05 p.m.
