Pirates

Pirates Lifeless Again vs. Cardinals; Nick Yorke Gets Big First

Published

3 weeks ago

September 17, 2024

Bailey Falter delivered a strong start for the Pittsburgh Pirates but the offense was quiet for the second-straight night in a 3-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Tuesday night.

Recap

The Pirates (71-80) took an early lead on a Bryan De La Cruz solo home run to center, just his second in 37 games since he was acquired at the trade deadline.

The Cardinals (76-75) evened the score in the bottom of the third when Bryan Reynolds couldn’t track down a Luken Baker RBI-triple off the wall in left.

The following inning, Jordan Walker clobbered a 425-foot solo shot to left-center field to give the Cardinals their first run of the game.

Falter (8-8) went 5.2 innings, allowed a pair of runs on four hits, walked a pair and struck out three. The left-hander has allowed two runs on six hits over his last 13 innings pitched.

Nolan Arenado added on an insurance run for the Cardinals with a sacrifice fly off of Dennis Santana in the bottom of the eighth. Santana had gone 19.1 innings without allowing a run, tied for the longest active streak in baseball.

In his second at-bat of the game, Nick Yorke singled to center field in the top of the fifth inning against Lance Lynn for his first big-league hit. He added two more hits against the Cardinals bullpen and finished 3 for 4. Yorke made his MLB debut on Monday night and went 0 for 3 with a stolen base.

Nick Yorke's first MLB hit with the fam in the stands 🥹 pic.twitter.com/Fl4qdVbOEp

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 18, 2024

Outside of Yorke, the rest of the Pirates’ lineup combined to go 5 for 3o.

Key Moment

The Pirates had runners on the corners with nobody out in the top of the eighth but did not score off of Matthew Liberatore. Joey Bart flew out to left, allowing Bryan Reynolds to advance from first to second. Andrew McCutchen then struck out and pinch-hitter Isiah Kiner-Falefa bounced out to end the inning.

Star of the Game

Lynn (7-4) held the Pirates to a lone run on four across six innings pitch. He walked a pair and struck out five batters.

Stat to Know

Dating back to a doubleheader against the Washington Nationals on Sep. 7, the Pirates’ starting rotation has posted a 3.02 ERA over their last 11 games. With the loss on Tuesday, they are 5-6 in those 11 games.

Noteworthy

Oneil Cruz (left ankle discomfort) was out of the lineup for a second-straight game. Cruz pinch hit for Michael A. Taylor in the top of the seventh and struck out. Billy Cook took over for Taylor in center after Cruz’s at-bat.
With the win, the Cardinals clinched the season series against the Pirates for the 21st time in the last 25 years.