PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) - Bryan Reynolds go-ahead two-run home run and David Bednar's eight out save ends Pirates nine game losing streak.
The Cardinals got their ace back in Jack Flaherty, after being out since October 3, 2021 and the Pirates jumped on him immediately. They scored two runs in the first inning and added two more in the second to make it 4-0.
St. Louis responded with one in the second and three in the bottom of the fifth inning to tie the game.
Bryan Reynolds hit his 11th home run of the season in the top of the seventh to give the Pirates a 6-4 lead.
After two singles by the Cardinals in the bottom of the seventh, enter renegade, David Bednar.
Bednar came in with two on and one out, after a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, Bednar struck out Nolan Gorman and Tyler O'Neill to get out of the jam.
Bednar pitched the eighth inning and after a leadoff walk retired the next three batters keeping the game 6-4 Pirates.
Brendan Donovan led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, bringing up the hottest hitter in the series in Paul Goldschmidt. Bednar got Goldschmidt to ground into a 5-4-3 double play and struck out Nolan Arenado to secure the eight out save and ending a nine game losing streak for the Pirates.
"It's not just another win," said Derek Shelton. "This was a win we needed. I think with the exception of the game we played last night, we played pretty well on this trip. We're a young club, we gotta find ways to win games and that's an important message for this group."
For Bednar, he picked up save number 11 on the season, his first eight-out save of his career.
"He was fairly efficient, he was at 26 pitches after the eighth. I went down and asked him where he was at and his answer was pretty convincing, so I let him go back out there," said Shelton. "We're talking the heart of their order too. The guy hitting second (Goldschmidt) is on a different planet. We wanted our best guy against him and he did a nice job."
