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Adam Wainwright Dazzles Again as Cardinals Stomp Pirates, 13-0

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Steven Brault struggled against the Cardinals and Adam Wainwright pitched another gem, frustrating the Pirates’ bats in a 13-0 St. Louis win on Saturday night.

Brault looked frustrated out on the mound in the second inning. After giving up a hit from Yadier Molina and a walk against Dylan Carlson, Brault left a fastball in the middle of the zone and allowed a two-run triple by Edmundo Sosa. Cardinals drew first blood, and with the way Adam Wainwright has pitched against the Pirates, it seemed like all the Cardinals would need. 

Brault’s shaky start would continue into the third inning. Thanks to a leadoff double from Tommy Edman and an RBI single from Goldshmidt, the Pirates would find themselves in a 3-run hole. At one point in the inning, Brault would load the bases with no outs. It looked as if Brault would get out of the inning until Edmundo Sosa hit a bases-clearing triple making it his 5th RBI and second triple of the night. 

Third inning woes would continue even longer with Adam Wainwright adding salt to Brault’s wound, making it a 7-0 game. At this point, Brault had given up eight hits. Brault’s day was done after going just three innings and throwing 66 pitches. Kyle Keller would come in to replace Brault in the fourth inning.

Goldshmidt would earn his second RBI on the night off of lefty Anthony Banda in the sixth inning, scoring Tommy Edman, making it even more of a blowout, and increasing the lead to 8-0. 

Luis Oviedo would come in to continue his development this year. Unfortunately, Oviedo’s woes would continue in his young career, walking four, throwing two wild pitches, and allowing two earned runs. The Pirates found themselves down a touchdown and a field goal.

The Cardinals bats rudely welcomed back Sam Howard. Howard gives up the first home run of the night, and then an infield single made it 13-0.

Wainwright continued his dominance against the Pirates through the first four innings and found himself nursing a perfect game. The hardest-hit ball he gave up through those four innings came against Ke’Bryan Hayes in the first inning that went 101.2 MPH.

Colin Moran thankfully gets into the hit column for the Pirates, breaking up the perfect game in the 5th inning. Moran even beat the shift to achieve the Pirates’ first hit with an exit velocity of 95.8 MPH. 

Ben Gamel found himself in scoring position after a single and an error on the throwback to the infield. It looked like Ke’Bryan Hayes would drive in Gamel, but Harrison Bader had other plans. Bader made a spectacular diving catch in centerfield to preserve Adam Wainwright’s shutout through six innings.

The Pirates managed eight base runners for the entirety of the game and couldn’t manged to get one run home. This is a theme 2021 Pirates fans have become all too familiar with, and this loss marked the 13th time the Pirates have been shut out.

Takeaways

Brault may have had one of his worst starts in quite some time as a Pirate. He went just three innings, gave up eight hits and seven earned runs. Throughout the night, you could see Brault visibly frustrated, shaky, and downright inaccurate. On several occasions, you could point to at-bats where a curveball would be left in the zone too much or any other pitch for that matter. On a fireworks night, Brault provided a ton of fireworks for the Cardinals.  

Development is key in seasons like the one the Pirates are having. Inserting Oviedo into a meaningless blowout is a very smart move. We all know that Oviedo, after this season, will be sent to the minors, but the experiences Oviedo is soaking in are so crucial to his development. The stuff is there; he just needs to harness it; remember, this kid is just 22-years old. 

Wainwright has either dipped into the fountain of youth, or he really hates the Pirates bats. The Pirates have only scored one time against Wainwright in what seems a million years, and oddly enough, the last Pirate to score a run off of Wainwright was recently released Gregory Polanco on a home run. The Pirates managed just three hits Saturday night against the near 40-year-old veteran.

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