Teammates wait for Pittsburgh Pirates Pedro Alvarez after he hit a solo home run to break a tie in the 19th inning. UPI/Bill Greenblatt
Pedro Alvarez homered in the 19th inning. his 23rd of the season off Barret Browning and Andrew McCutcheon drove in two insurance runs with a single as the Pittsburgh Pirates won the longest game in the majors beating the Cardinals 6-3 Sunday. It took 6 hours, 7 minutes. Both teams scored a run in the 17th, and each club used eight pitchers.
McCutcheon singled in a run in the sixth inning as the Pirates tied the game at 2-2. It would stay that way for the next 10 innings.
Garrett Jones gave Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead with a bases-loaded infield single in the 17th, but the Cardinals tied it on a sacrifice fly by Tony Cruz that brought in pinch-runner Ryan Jackson. Yadier Molina and Skip Schumaker began the 17th inning with singles.
Jaime Garcia, sidelined for 64 days with a strain in his pitcher shoulder, struck out a career-high 10 and did not allow an earned run in an eight-inning, 107-pitch stint. He gave up five hits, two unearned runs and did not walk a batter.