Pittsburgh Pirates Andrew McCutchen (R) is congratulated at home plate by teammate Neil Walker after hitting a two run home run in the sixth inning. UPI/Bill Greenblatt
Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle Lohse was solid for most of his six innings of work, minus one stretch where five batters were able to string four runs together. A late rally wasn’t enough as the Cardinal lost to the Pirates 4-3 on a chilly Monday night at Busch Stadium.
After cruising through the first five innings where the Pirates managed just two hits, Lohse ran into trouble starting the sixth. Ronny Cedeno moved to second after pitcher Charlie Morton bunted him over following a lead off single. Lohse walked Jose Tabata and gave up a two run double to Neal Walker. Two pitches later, Andrew McCutchen drilled an 0-1 pitch 370 feet to left field for a two-run homer to make the score 4-1.
Meanwhile the Cardinals couldn’t do anything against Morton who held the Cards to one run over six innings while being anything but spectacular. St. Louis just couldn’t take advantage of opportunities. Morton, over the last two seasons, is now 3-12 in 18 starts, with two of those wins against St. Louis.
The Cards rallied for two runs in the eighth, but drop to 1-3 on the season.
