Mlodzinski, Bullpen Combine to Blank Cardinals; Pirates Snap Four-Game Skid
Carmen Mlodzinski and four relievers combined to shut out the St. Louis Cardinals as the Pittsburgh Pirates snapped a four-game losing streak with a 7-0 win at Busch Stadium on Wednesday night.
Scoring Plays
Top 2nd, 1-0 PIT: Spencer Horwitz lined a solo home run to right field off Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy (3-3).
Top 4th, 2-0 PIT: The Pirates (25-24) put together a two-out rally against McGreevy to push across another run. Konnor Griffin singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. After an Endy Rodríguez walk, Jhostynxon Garcia lined a base hit up the middle for his first-career RBI.
Top 6th, 3-0 PIT: The Pirates loaded the bases against McGreevy and tacked on another run on a Nick Gonzales sacrifice fly against left-hander Justin Bruihl, who relieved the Cardinals starter.
Top 8th, 7-0 PIT: Pittsburgh poured it on for four runs against Matt Svanson. Jake Mangum singled to right with runners on the corners and Gonzales followed with an RBI single of his own. Two batters later, Bryan Reynolds delivered a two-out two-run double.
Key Moments
The Cardinals (28-20) loaded the bases in what was a three-run game with one out in the sixth inning, and Yohan Ramírez fell behind Masyn Winn 3-0 before battling back to strike him out for the second out. César Prieto then drove one to deep right, but Jake Mangum made a sliding catch on the track for out No. 3.
Player of the Game
Konnor Griffin recorded the second career four-hit game of his career and scored a career-high three runs.
Stat to Know
The Pirates had a 6.81 ERA (28er/37ip) during their four-game skid before firing off nine-shutout innings on Wednesday night. Wednesday’s win was the team’s sixth shutout of the year.
Notable Performances
- Carmen Mlodzinski : 5.0 innings, four hits, no runs, one walk, one strikeout, 95 pitches/61 strikes
- Spencer Horwitz: 1 for 5, one home run, one RBI, one run
- Konnor Griffin: 4 for 5, three runs
- Nick Gonzales: 2 for 4, two RBI, one run
- Endy Rodríguez: 2 for 3, one run, two walks
- Jhostynxon Garcia: 2 for 4, one RBI
- Jake Mangum: 2 for 5, one RBI, one run
- Bryan Reynolds: 1 for 5, one double, two RBI
Noteworthy
- Evan Sisk, Yohan Ramírez, Justin Lawrence and Dennis Santana combined with Carmen Mlodzinski (4-3) to shut out the Cardinals.
- The win snaps a five-game losing streak against the Cardinals, which dated back to last season.
- Konnor Griffin extended his hitting streak to seven games with a base hit to left field in the second inning.
- The Pirates out-hit the Cardinals 15-5. Every player for Pittsburgh reached base safely at least once.
- The Pirates optioned RHP Isaac Mattson to Triple-A Indianapolis and recalled RHP Wilber Dotel.
Up Next
RHP Braxton Ashcraft (2-2, 3.09 ERA) gets the ball for the Pirates in Thursday’s rubber match. RHP Dustin May (3-4, 4.81 ERA) starts for the Cardinals. First pitch: 1:15 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh/100.1FM & AM 1020.
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