Mlodzinski shows off Bucs' starter depth with scoreless outing

ST. LOUIS -- It is just about impossible to headline a pitching rotation with more star power and arm talent than the Pirates have in Paul Skenes, but it’s equally tough to get through the rigors of a season without pitchers deeper in the rotation establishing themselves as reliable options.

Pitching at a ballpark where he’s had a great deal of success, Carmen Mlodzinski took another step forward in that goal on Wednesday night, backing the Bucs to a 7-0 victory in the second game of a three-game set at Busch Stadium.

Mlodzinski submitted one of the best starts of his career, spinning five scoreless innings and allowing just four hits, three of which were singles. He struck out only one batter, but also walked only one, and his 95 pitches thrown represented the second-highest single-game total of his career, topped only by the 101 he threw against Cincinnati on May 2.

It was the second strong start at this ballpark for Mlodzinski, who allowed just one run over five innings here last April 7. In seven appearances (three starts) in St. Louis thus far in his career, Mlodzinski has held the Cardinals to a paltry 2.00 ERA. Wednesday’s victory makes this the only ballpark at which he has recorded more than one win.

Konnor Griffin paced the Pittsburgh offense with four hits (tied for a career high) and three runs scored. Spencer Horwitz opened the scoring in the second inning with a line-drive homer inside the right-field foul pole against St. Louis starter Michael McGreevy, and Nick Gonzales and Jake Mangum added RBI singles in the eighth. Bryan Reynolds’ two-run double capped the late rally and put the game far beyond reach.