Paul Skenes and manager Don Kelly were among the optimistic voices inside the Pittsburgh Pirates’ clubhouse after this past weekend’s sweep to the Phillies.
Kelly said the Pirates had dealt with and responded to adversity before, while Skenes insisted he wasn’t worried with the club’s ability to respond following several frustrating losses in a row, including back-to-back shutouts Saturday and Sunday.
While the Pirates offense showed signs of life Tuesday for the first time in several games and scored two runs in the ninth to force extras against St. Louis, the Cardinals won 9-6 on a walk-off, three-run homer by Ivan Herrera in the 10th.
The Pirates’ Mason Montgomery (1-1, 4.00 ERA) pitched the 10th and let up a leadoff single to JJ Wetherholt, which moved automatic runner Victor Scott to third for Herrera, who launched his homer 410 feet into the center-field stands at Busch Stadium.
The Pirates (24-24), who have lost four straight, nearly stole a win in the ninth. Down 6-4, they loaded the bases with zero outs against Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien and scored a run after Marcell Ozuna hit into a double play.
Pinch-hitter Spencer Horwitz then tied the score 6-6 with a two-out, RBI single.
Starter Mitch Keller took a no-decision, lasting 5 2/3 innings, allowing four earned runs (one of which came after he exited), on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts.
The Pirates responded to an early 3-0 deficit with a four-run fifth, but immediately after Keller departed, Evan Sisk gave back the lead, with the Cardinals (28-19) adding another run in the eighth, as well.
Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore had an abbreviated start of 4 2/3 innings, but he struck out a career-high nine.
Keller was coming off a disappointing performance against the Rockies on May 13 in which he allowed six earned runs.
In the third, St. Louis jumped to a 2-0 lead when Wetherholt took him deep to center field for a two-run homer.
Keller had walked Pedro Pages, and leading to Wetherholt’s at-bat, first baseman Jared Triolo botched a double-play opportunity that would have ended the inning, failing to field a sharp grounder by Scott.
By the fourth, Liberatore had tied his career high in strikeouts (eight), as the Pirates offense continued to stay quiet.
Alec Burleson and Walker began the bottom of the fourth with back-to-back singles for St. Louis, which went up 3-0 on an RBI double play hit into by Nolan Gorman, which plated Burleson from third.
The Pirates responded in the top of the fifth, loading the bases with one out after Brandon Lowe and Triolo singled, with Gonzales drawing a walk.
A wild pitch by Liberatore then allowed Lowe to score.
From there, with runners on first and third, Bryan Reynolds cleared the bases with a double to left-center field, tying the score 3-3.
With two outs, Oneil Cruz made it 4-3 with an RBI hit, leading to Liberatore’s removal.
With two outs and runner on first in the sixth, Kelly opted to replace Keller with the lefty Sisk to face Gorman.
That decision backfired quickly, as the normally solid Sisk surrendered a 437-foot homer that put St. Louis back in front 5-4, with one of the two runs charged to Keller.
Jhostynxon Garcia, making his Pirates debut after being called up from Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday, collected his first hit with the club, a leadoff single in the eighth.
Burleson hit a solo homer off Pirates reliever Brandan Bidois fto begin the bottom of the eighth, giving St. Louis some insurance and a 6-4 lead.
The Pirates went down in order in the 10th against St Louis’ George Soriano to set the stage for the Cardinals’ walk-off.