Pirates Squeak Past Cardinals, Drama in 9th; Extend Season-High Win Streak

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates’ winning streak has reached a season-high five games following a 1-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park on Tuesday night.

How We Got There

The first run of the game didn’t come until the eighth. Ke’Bryan Hayes opened the inning with a base hit, and Adam Frazier’s pinch-hit double gave the Pirates runners at second and third with nobody out.

Henry Davis gave the Pirates (37-50) the first lead of the game by ripping a sacrifice fly to left-center. 

Skenes held the Cardinals (47-40) scoreless across five innings and struck out five. He escaped a jam in the bottom of the third when St. Louis had runners on the corners and no outs by striking out Masyn Winn and getting Alec Burleson to line into a double play.

The following inning, left fielder Tommy Pham prevented a run from scoring by throwing out Willson Contreras at home plate on a Pedro Pagés base hit. 

Isaac Mattson (2-0) was the winning pitcher and David Bednar is now 12 for 12 in save chances on the season. 

Key Moment

The Cardinals had runners on second and third with one out in the top of the ninth. Spencer Horwitz fielded a grounder from Victor Scott II at first base and fired home to get José Fermín at the plate. David Bednar struck out Brendan Donovan to preserve the win.

Spencer Horwitz throws José Fermín out at home to keep the Pirates in the lead! pic.twitter.com/MjlF1pSWPj

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 2, 2025

Star of the Game

Cardinals starter Andre Pallante held the Pirates to just one run in seven innings. He walked a pair and struck out three. It was the fourth time this season he worked at least seven innings. 

Stat to Know

Paul Skenes has not gotten a win since throwing 6.2-shutout innings against the Diamondbacks in Arizona on May 28. In six starts since then, Skenes is 0-2 despite a 1.77 ERA.

Notable Performances

• Paul Skenes: 5.0 innings, five hits, no runs, one walk, five strikeouts, 88 pitches/59 strikes
• Caleb Ferguson: 2.0 innings, one hit, no runs, no walks, two strikeouts, 25 pitches/17 strikes
• Andrew McCutchen: 1 for 2, two walks
• Adam Frazier: 1 for 1, one double

Noteworthy

• Ke’Bryan Hayes extended his hitting streak to 10 games with his single in the eighth.
• This is the first time the Pirates have won five games in a row since July 11-20, 2024. The Pirates have shut out the Cardinals in both games to begin the series.
• The Pirates traded RHP Hunter Stratton to the Atlanta Braves for OF Titus Dumitru and cash considerations.

Up Next

The Pirates will go for their second straight series sweep on Wednesday afternoon. RHP Mitch Keller (2-10, 3.90 ERA) will be on the mound for Pittsburgh opposite RHP Sonny Gray(8-2, 3.36 ERA). First pitch: 12:35 p.m. ET.