After a rather abysmal performance on Saturday, a solid pitching performance was the key for the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 5-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
It seemed as if it could be another long day for the Pirates' pitching staff, as Kolten Wong scored from second base on a Tommy Edman infield single in the bottom of the third to give St. Louis (2-1) an early 1-0 edge.
Finally, however, the Pirates' bats came to life in the top of the fourth inning. After two quick outs, Colin Moran deposited a solo homerun into the right field bullpen to knot the score at 1-1. The homerun was followed by a Phillip Evans single and a Jose Osuna two-run bomb, giving the Pirates (1-2) their first lead of the season at 3-1.
Josh Bell added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth inning to make it 4-1, while a Phillip Evans RBI double in the eighth put the game out of reach at 5-1.
Evans led the way on offense, going 3-4 with the RBI double, while Jacob Stallings recorded his first extra-base hit of the season with a fifth inning double.
In his first start of the season, Mitch Keller turned in a crisp performance, allowing just two hits and one earned run en route to a well-earned victory.
Perhaps the most impressive part of the Pirates' first 2020 victory was the bullpen.
J.T. Brubaker, making his MLB debut, struck out four batters across his first two professional innings. He was followed by Michael Feliz, who struck out another batter in an inning of work.
Nick Burdi, appearing in his first MLB game since April 22, 2019, emphatically shut the door, striking out all three Cardinals he faced to seal the victory.
The Pirates head home to Pittsburgh for a three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers, beginning on Monday.
Comments