PITTSBURGH — To outlast and out-blast the Pittsburgh Pirates it took the entirety of the Cardinals roster to rush in and bail out the team when injuries could have left them swamped.
The Cardinals used seven pitchers and all four bats they had on their bench to navigate through Thursday’s 7-6 victory at PNC Park and complete their first series sweep in almost six weeks. The Cardinals had to dodge the sudden departure of their starting pitcher and the loss of their leadoff hitter after his fourth-inning at-bat. They did so by unloading the available batters from the bench to contribute three runs and turning to every corner of the bullpen for innings, including turbulent turns in the eighth and ninth.
Setup man Giovanny Gallegos held a two-run lead through the eighth inning despite allowing the tying run to reach base. He struck out three batters around two singles to cement the hold and carry the game to closer Alex Reyes. An error to start the ninth out a Pirate on base, and Bryan Reynolds’ two-run homer cleared them and the fence to tighten the game.
Reyes struck out the final two batters he faced for his 27th save.
The series sweep is the Cardinals’ seventh of three-game sweep of the season. Two of those series sweeps have come at PNC Park.
The game turned in the fourth with a swing from a Cardinals player with a name fit for the pirate motif
Raise the Nootbaar.
The Cardinals’ Lars Nootbaar hit a two-run, pinch-hit homer to break a 3-3 tie with the first big-league homer of his career. That rewarded lefty T.J. McFarland for his work rushing into the game to replace Wade LeBlanc after the starter experienced elbow issues.
Nootbaar’s homer was one of two two-run homers the Cardinals socked in the same inning to retake the lead and extend it for the bullpen to hold.
Paul DeJong hit his second home run in three days and collected at least two RBIs for the second consecutive game to pull the Cardinals back into a 3-3 tie with the Pirates. The fourth inning started with a walk to Matt Carpenter, and DeJong followed with his 16th home run of the season. Four batters and one Tommy Edman double later the relay race run by the relievers allowed for a pinch-hitter and rookie Nootbaar got the swing.
He lofted the second pitch he saw high and deep and over the Clememente wall in right field at PNC Park.
That Cardinals added a run in the sixth and pulled away with Paul Goldschmidt’s RBI double in the ninth to secure the work of a bullpen
Within the span of two innings the Cardinals removed their starting pitcher and their leadoff hitter suddenly, both with injuries that could linger and shape the roster in days to come.
LeBlanc, the lefty who helped the Cardinals stabilize their rotation early in July, was unable to continue after two innings due to a soreness in his left elbow. LeBlanc had allowed three runs, all of them on a home run, and he threw 30 pitches to get six outs from 10 batters. The initial diagnosis at the ballpark was elbow pain, according to a club official. LeBlanc will go through additional exams and scans of the joint before Friday’s game. If he will miss an extended period of time or even his next start, the Cardinals can place LeBlanc on the 10-day injured list when they activate Jack Flaherty to start Friday night.
Rookie outfielder Dylan Carlson already had an eventful game before his abrupt exit following a three-pitch strikeout in the fourth inning.
Carlson led off the game with a single and stole second before the pitcher noticed he was on the go. That set up the Cardinals’ first run from a Nolan Arenado RBI double. In the third inning, Carlson’s follow-throw clipped catcher Jacob Stallings, and because he had popped the ball up and Stallings failed to make the catch near the netting Carlson was ruled out due to interference. The rule is tricky, but the application of Rule 6.03 (a) (3) had to do with continuation of the play after Carlson’s bat made contact with Stallings and the possibility that it “hinders the catcher’s play at home base.”
Carlson came up the next inning, whiffed on the third pitch he saw, and then ducked into the dugout.
As Andrew Miller warmed to take over the mound, Carlson was removed.
The official diagnoses at the ballpark was sore wrist, and he too will be reevaluated Friday and likely sent for a scan depending on if there’s swelling or additional pain.
The abbreviate start from LeBlanc left the Cardinals with seven innings to cover for a win, and they went with the committee approach vs. the long reliever. Into the mix first came T. J. McFarland, a relatively new lefty who has carved out a role with his groundball-greedy approach. He got a double play ball to end the third inning and then yielded the mound to Miller.
The veteran lefty allowed a home run to the first batter he faced – Colin Moran. The lefthanded-hitting Pirates first baseman entered the game with four career home runs against lefthanded pitchers.
He had two in consecutive swings.
His three-run bolt against LeBlanc traveled 423 feet to the left-center seats and nearly cleared them to reach the walkway between the ballpark and the dropoff toward the Allegheny River. Moran’s three-run shot seized the lead for the Pirates from the Cardinals. By the time Miller entered the game, they had. Moran’s solo homer tightened the Cardinals’ lead to one run, and Miller held it there by striking out the next three batters.
Jose Garcia and Genesis Cabrera split the next 2 2/3 innings before Gallegos entered and had to bob, weave, and overcome traffic to get the potential sweep to Reyes.
