Cardinals Batter Bucs 12-5

Today's Game: Trevor Cahill's second pitch was rolled inside first for a short, bad hop double that eluded Colin Moran only to be fielded by the ball girl, ruh roh. And yep, an out later a single sent him home. After a walk, Paul DeJong homered over The Notch; so much for Trevor Terrific tonight. Jack Flaherty spun two K's and a grounder. The Cards managed an infield single after a review in the second. Redbeard opened with a rap, Gregory Polanco doubled, and a Kevin Newman walk juiced the sacks. Ka'ai Tom's eight-pitch at bat ended with a sac fly for the only damage; Tom and Michael Perez both hit the ball well, but right to perfectly positioned Redbirds. A knock and a walk put Cardinals on the corners to start the third, and a single with one gone got back the run. The Bucs put together a walk and three straight raps with an out to make it 5-3, and was close to a big frame as Tom's two-out liner was snared at the track in center. St. Louis stranded a double in the fourth and the Pirates went down quietly in their half. It was three grounders, three outs for the Cards in the fifth; the Buccaneers also went down without a peep.

B-Rey had two hits tonight - image Pgh Pirates

Cahill left with a runner at third with an out in the sixth for Sam Howard, who shut it down. Flaherty gave up an an infield single with no complications, and at 104 pitches can call it a night. A walk and single to open the seventh brought in Duane Underwood. His second pitch was flared for a two-run two-bagger to run the count to 7-3; Nolan Arenado has dink doubles down to a science this series. Jordan Hicks had Adam Frazier at second and two outs when he injured his arm and Genesis Cabrera took over. Bryan Reynolds doubled in Fraze with a full count double and B-Rey came home after Redbeard's rap. Again, the Bucs were short-circuited when Polanco's 106 MPH liner was as at 'em ball to center. Chris Stratton was called on in the eighth and a two-out knock caused him no harm. Giovanny Gallegos spun an easy frame. Sean Poppen worked the ninth and was hammered; he was an odd choice by Shelty in a two-run game to begin with. At any rate, the Redbirds hit for the cycle against Poppen and tacked on five more runs. Kodi Whitley closed it cleanly, and the Cards took home a 12-5 win.

El Coffee is back to stinging the ball - image Pgh Pirates

Tough series so far; the Cards are combining bombs with bloops, and the Pirates bats just can't dig out the hole their pitchers are digging. We'll see if Wil Crowe can slow them down tomorrow.

Notes:

• Colin Moran had three hits and the guys on either side of him, Bryan Reynolds and Gregory Polanco, added two more. The middle of the order scored four runs and chased home three.
• Ke'Bryan Hayes is catching but not hitting yet as the pain from his injury has settled into his wrist, though that's hopefully a sign of healing. The Pirates are being kinda coy about the injury, but Key is making the San Diego/Chicago road trip with the team, so that's promising news.
• C Christian Kelley, 27, just released yesterday by the Bucs from Indy, has signed a minor-league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers. He had been in the Pittsburgh organization since 2015 when he was drafted, and was considered a top-flight glove guy but with a .229 career MiLB BA.

Tomorrow's Game: The game starts 1:05 and will be carried in AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan. Allegheny Health will be giving out a Wonder Woman bobblehead if the Wil Crowe-Carlos Martinez matchup isn't enough to draw you in. It's the last game of the homestand; the Pirates head to San Diego afterward.