ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ columnists Ben Frederickson and Jeff Gordon discuss if the Cardinals avoiding back-to-back losing seasons should soften the view of this team moving forward. The Cardinals haven't been below .500 at the year's end in consecutive non-strike shortened seasons since 1958-59.
The Cardinals haven’t given themselves a large margin for error for most of this season, and living on the edge proved too dangerous for comfort on Thursday night.
After right-hander Erick Fedde held the Pittsburgh Pirates to just one run in the first six innings and the Cardinals clung to a one-run lead entering the seventh inning, the Pirates scratched out the two runs needed to flip the game and deny the Cardinals a series sweep.
The Cardinals’ back-end bullpen trio of Andrew Kittredge, JoJo Romero and Ryan Fernandez, a combination that has been reliable throughout the season, allowed two runs in a two-inning span as the Cardinals fell 3-2 in the finale of a four-game series in front of an announced crowd of 32,194 at Busch Stadium.
The Cardinals (77-76) fell to 27-21 in one-run games this season.
They entered the night one win shy of tying their longest win streak at home this season. With wins in the first three games of the series, they’d won five in a row at Busch Stadium. Wednesday night’s win also assure them a winning record in their home ballpark for the 17th time in 19 seasons in the current version of Busch Stadium.
Brendan Donovan powered the Cardinals offense with a 4-for-4 performance at the plate that included a double and two RBIs. Paul Goldschmidt (2 for 4, two runs scored) also had a multi-hit game. That duo of hitters accounted for all of the Cardinals’ hits.
The Pirates (72-81) scored the winning run in the eighth inning after Fernandez, the Rule 5 draft pick turned high-leverage mainstay, entered the game. He came in with a runner on and two outs in the eighth inning with the score tied.
Left-hander JoJo Romero gave up a single to start the eighth but then got a double play to wipe away the runner. Romero then walked left-handed-hitting phenom Oneil Cruz. The Pirates pinch-hit right-handed-hitting Connor Joe, and Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol countered by bringing in Fernandez.
Joe singled to put runners on first and third, then Nick Gonzales lined a single to center field that scored Cruz and gave the Pirates a 3-2 advantage.
Fernandez appeared in the first and second games of the series and had allowed just one hit in those two innings against the Pirates.
The Cardinals got the tying run on base in the ninth with Donovan’s fourth hit, but he was the only batter to reach base in the frame.
Fedde gives Cardinals a strong start
Fedde entered the day aiming to stop the longest losing streak of his career at four games (in his past five starts). He’d allowed three runs or fewer in three of those four losses. He also allowed just one run in a no decision against the Minnesota Twins on Aug. 25.
Thursday night, Fedde allowed a leadoff double to start the game on a ball that deflected off the glove of diving second baseman Donovan and into left field. Despite the double, Fedde worked through the first inning on eight pitches (seven strikes) and retired the next seven batters he faced.
He avoided a potential jam in the third inning when he allowed a one-out single, a fielder’s choice and a walk to put two men on with two outs. Fedde then struck out Cruz on a check-swing third strike to end the inning.
Had third base umpire D.J. Reyburn not called Cruz out on the appeal of the swing, Fedde would have walked a second consecutive batter and faced a bases-loaded situation.
Fedde stranded a runner on third base in the sixth after a leadoff single.
Every base matters as Pirates take lead
The Pirates drew first blood in the top of the fourth thanks to a one-out triple smacked into right field by Gonzales. That line drive up the right field line hit the ground and rolled into the right field corner.
Cardinals right fielder Jorda Walker went aggressively after the ball on the ground, but as it rolled into the corner along the base of the wall, Walker had to chase the ball along the warning track and Gonzales alertly dashed from second to third.
With just one out, the Pirates got a deep fly ball to center field from Bryan De La Cruz that allowed Gonzales to tag up and score from third for the game’s first run. De La Cruz logged his 66th RBI of the season.
That was the lone run allowed by Fedde, who went six innings and allowed four hits and one walk. He struck out three in his second quality start since he joined the Cardinals.
The Cardinals took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth to put Fedde in position for the win at that point.
Ortiz on the attack against Cardinals
Pirates starting pitcher Luis Ortiz held the Cardinals to one hit through the first three innings. Like Fedde, he cruised through the first inning on eight pitches. The right-hander induced a bevy of grounders — four of his first five outs.
The Cardinals broke the ice against Oritz in the fourth inning when Goldschmidt’s single to right field started a string of three consecutive batters reaching base against Ortiz.
Nolan Arenado followed Goldschmidt’s single with a walk. Then Donovan provided the key at-bat of the inning and tied the score 1-1.
Donovan fell behind 0-2 but then fouled off back-to-back pitches to extend the at-bat. Donovan then took a pitch in the dirt, and he smacked a 1-2 sinker back up the middle and into center field for an RBI single.
Goldschmidt scored on the play, the 1,200th run scored of his career — the third-most for an active MLB player behind Los Angeles Dodgers star Freddie Freeman and Pirates star Andrew McCutchen.
Ortiz got the next batter, Lars Nootbaar, to ground into a double play. Then with Arenado on third base, Walker was called out on a third strike on a pitch over the heart of the plate but below the strike zone. That ended the fourth inning.
Donovan does it again, but lead brief
Donovan gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead with his two-out RBI double in the sixth inning.
Donovan, who registered hits in each of his three at-bats against Ortiz, came to the plate with a runner on second base after Goldschmidt hit a one-out single and then stole second on a called third strike to Arenado.
Donovan clubbed a 1-2 fastball over the middle of the plate and drove it into left-center field to bring in Goldschmidt for the second time in the game. Donovan recorded consecutive multiple RBI games for the first time since May 22 and May 25.
However, the Pirates tied the score in the top of the seventh against reliever Kittredge.
Pirates catcher Yasmani Grandal smashed a two-out solo home run into the right field stands against Kittredge, who took over for Fedde to start the seventh.
Veteran right-hander, 36, authored his 13th quality start in 5-1 loss to Cleveland on Friday, and afterward gave a glimpse of conversations he…
Cardinals starting pitcher Erick Fedde throws against Pirates infielder Jared Triolo during the third inning Thursday, Sept, 19, 2024, at Busch Stadium. Fedde held the Pirates to one run through six innings Thursday, but the Cardinals fell to the Pirates 3-2.
The Cardinals' Brendan Donovan turns to round first base on an RBI double off Pirates pitcher Luis Ortiz as Paul Goldschmidt, back, comes in to score to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning on Thursday, Sept, 19, 2024, at Busch Stadium.