Field Level Media
Sep 18, 2020
Kolten Wong and Tyler O'Neill hit home runs Friday to help the visiting St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 in the first game of a doubleheader.
Paul Goldschmidt added an RBI double for St. Louis (23-24), which built a 6-2 lead and was forced to hang on from there.
Ke'Bryan Hayes had a two-run single for the Pirates (15-35), who put a scare into the Cardinals with a three-run fourth.
St. Louis starter Carlos Martจชnez pitched 3 2/3 innings, giving up five runs and three hits, with four walks and a strikeout.
Alex Reyes (2-1) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the victory. Ryan Helsley got the final two outs for his first career save.
Pittsburgh's Trevor Williams (1-8) allowed six runs, five of them earned, and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings, with three strikeouts and no walks.
Wong led off the game with his home run to right, his first of the season, to extend his hitting streak to 10 games and give St. Louis a 1-0 lead.
Pittsburgh came back in the bottom of the first to take a 2-1 lead without a hit. Martinez walked the bases loaded with no outs. Catcher Yadier Molina was called for catcher's interference as Bryan Reynolds' bat hit the glove, bringing in a run. Kevin Newman followed with a sacrifice fly for another run.
In the second, Molina singled with two outs. O'Neill hit a home run to right-center, his seventh, to put the Cardinals ahead 3-2.
After Tommy Edman led off the third with a single, Goldschmidt doubled him home to make it 4-2. Goldschmidt went to third on Brad Miller's fly out and scored on Paul DeJong's sacrifice fly to make it 5-2 Cardinals.
St. Louis was back at it in the fourth. Molina singled and went to third when O'Neill reached on Newman's wild throw, his seventh error. After Harrison Bader struck out, Molina scored on Wong's groundout to make it 6-2.
The Pirates closed it to 6-5 in the bottom of the fourth. With Jose Osuna at first after a fielder's choice, John Ryan Murphy singled. Adam Frazier walked to load the bases. Hayes hit a single to right that skipped past Edman for an error to clear the bases.
--Field Level Media