PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – How many times have Pirates fans watched the Cardinals take advantage of a little mistake to beat the Bucs. Monday night in the first of three big games, a wild pitch opened the door and Nick Gonzales made St. Louis pay in a 2-1 Pirates victory.
Bryan Reynolds opened the eighth inning with a single off Cardinals reliever John King. As the left-hander was working carefully to Oneil Cruz, he bounced one in the dirt for a wild pitch. Reynolds went down to second base and while Cruz struck out, Nick Gonzales drove a single to right to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead. Cruz drove in the earlier run on a two-out single.
"He's just a gamer, man," Keller said of Gonzales. "He loves baseball and he's really good at it, too. He's playing a hell of a second base and is doing really well at the plate. I don't want to say we expect it now, but every time he comes up in a big situation, he's getting the job done, which is a testament to him and his hard work."
Pirates remain a half-game back of the Mets for the final Wild Card spot.
Keller strong
His first start of the second half, Keller made a lone mistake of an 0-1 curveball hit off the right field foul pole by Nolan Gorman in going seven innings, allowing one run, six hits, walked two and struck out three. The 28-year-old threw 62 of 97 pitches for strikes for the fewest runs he’s allowed in a start since June 19.
"Huge team win, especially against the Cardinals," Keller said. "Every win's great but especially against a division rival – these are games we need to win. Huge team win. Gonzales great, Rowdy, huge plays. Just great plays all around. Was a fun night and I'm glad we could come out with the W."
Rowdy, Rowdy
Bucs first baseman Rowdy Tellez hit his second double of the month, but the play that got the crowd going was on defense. Two outs in the fifth inning with the game tied at one, Cardinals Brendan Donovan hit a hard one-hopper that would have scored one if not two runs, but Tellez dove to his left and tossed to Keller for the third out.
“Huge play," said Pirates manager Derek Shelton. "First and second, two outs, diving play down the line. It’s really important. It’s something that changed the game.”
Cruz 1st
187 games into his MLB career, Cruz had multiple stolen bases in the same game for the first time with steals in the first and third innings. Cruz now has nine stolen bases this season, one shy of his best of 10 in 2022.
"When he's healthy he can change the game on the bases," Shelton said. "He puts himself in scoring position which is really important. Overall, he played a really good game. Good bounce-back game because yesterday he struggled a little bit. Today he bounced back and had a good game and that's just a sign of maturation for a young player."
1-2-3 Chapman
Two straight outings and three of the last four, veteran left-handed reliever Aroldis Chapman retired the side 1-2-3. The ERA for the 36-year-old is under four at 3.93 with 60 strikeouts on the season. He threw four pitches over 100 mph, all to the final batter Donovan, who grounded out weakly to first.
David Bednar came on in the ninth for his 18th save.
5 Top 10 signed
Pirates signed five draft picks on Monday and assigned them to the Florida Complex League.
6th round-6’6”, 225-pound RHP Matt Ager (UC Santa Barbara)
USA Baseball Collegiate national team in 2023
7th round-6’2”, 200-pound LHP Connor Wietgrefe (Univ. of Minnesota)
8-4, 2.77 ERA, one HR allowed, 74 strikeouts, 1st Team All-Big 10
8th round-6’4”, 195-pound RHP Gavin Adams (Florida State)
Missed 2024 due to Tommy John surgery, 15.04K/9 Indiana River St College
9th round-6’, 200-pound SS Duce Gourson (UCLA)
Led UCLA in on-base percentage, 2B, extra-base hits, BB & stolen bases
10th round-6’3”, 200-pound C Derek Berg (Army-West Point)
53 games, .290, 15 HR, 28-game on-base streak to end college career
Up Next
Paul Skenes makes his first start of the second half for game two of the series with the Cardinals. Skenes is 6-0 with a 1.90 ERA against RHP Lance Lynn (5-4, 4.39 ERA), who will make his 26th career appearance against the Pirates and 24th start. Lynn’s worst career numbers have come against the Bucs with 73 runs allowed including 12 home runs, 54 walks and a 1.529 WHIP. Dan Zangrilli starts the North Shore Tavern Leadoff Show at 5:45 on 93.7 The Fan.