PITTSBURGH -- In the working press box at PNC Park, there’s a wall between the open portion -- where the writers sit and work while taking in the game -- and the more secluded booths where the broadcasters sit to call it.
But with the door cracked open for room temperature maintenance a few booths down the hall, no wall was going to contain the enthusiasm from Cardinals broadcaster Chip Caray on rookie JJ Wetherholt's first career swing against Pirates phenom Paul Skenes.
This reporter didn’t need a broadcast feed to hear Caray’s call of Wetherholt’s leadoff home run in real time.
Skenes’ title of reigning National League Cy Young Award winner didn’t seem to change anything about the way the Cardinals handled him in a 10-5 win in Thursday afternoon’s series finale.
With a series win already secured, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol felt the challenge of facing one of the game’s best enhanced the degree to which his group drilled down on the details, all without falling victim to any notion of a getaway day mentality.
“You never want to ask for Skenes,” Marmol said. “But at the same time, I think it brought out the best in everyone in the day game. Knowing that you won the first three, can come out and kind of lock in against their best, and see what you can do.”
The hardware didn’t help Skenes' fate: In his seventh career start against St. Louis, he was still unable to produce his first win against the Cardinals. Skenes’ record fell to 0-5 against St. Louis as he surrendered five runs (four earned) across five innings.
As a team, his Pirates are now 1-6 in Skenes’ starts against the Cardinals.
Wetherholt, a native of nearby Mars, Pa., continued his red-hot return to the ballpark he grew up visiting. In a 2-0 count to start the game, Wetherholt turned around a Skenes fastball with an exit velocity of 107.7 mph, depositing it into the seats beyond the right-field wall.
Wetherholt’s seven career home runs tied him with J.D. Drew for the second most by any Cardinals player in his first 31 career games, behind only Albert Pujols (10).
“It felt great,” Wetherholt said. “When you can come out and just put a good swing early, especially against an arm like that, it kind of sets a tone for the team -- and they did a great job of following up.”
Meanwhile, Jordan Walker -- after racing out to the Major League lead in home runs when he hit his eighth blast of the year on April 13 -- had fallen into a dry spell ever since. But on the final day of April, Walker found another homer to lift his season tally to nine.
Skenes was, apparently, the unlikely antidote to a miniature power slump -- but Walker’s approach is designed to incorporate more than just long balls.
“Just be able to contribute and try to get the runs in, no matter how you can,” Walker said. “I think it's just a big part of being the complete hitter that I want to be, so I’ve just kind of got to remind myself that I need to stay there.”
Near the same spot along the angled wall in the left-field corner where Nathan Church ended Wednesday’s game with a walk-off home run robbery, Walker’s swing cleared the outstretched glove of Jake Mangum for a two-run shot.
In his Cardinals debut on the mound, starter Hunter Dobbins faced the minimum through three innings but lost command of the strike zone his second time through the batting order.
A Brandon Lowe two-out double began a stretch in which Dobbins walked three straight batters to provide Pittsburgh with its first run. Hampered by five walks, Dobbins traversed just 4 1/3 innings, allowing three earned runs.
“Later innings, I was definitely knocking the rust off,” Dobbins said. “Getting out of the stretch with some adrenaline -- rhythm was a little off, but should be an easy fix.”
Lowe stayed in the flames his next time up, getting the better of JoJo Romero for a solo home run in the seventh to make it 5-4 -- so, would Skenes be taken off the hook?
Not so fast. Looking to avoid a redux of the late-inning angst associated with Wednesday night’s highwire act from the St. Louis bullpen, the Cardinals' bats sensed the need for some insurance.
The Cards batted around in a marathon top of the eighth, delivering a five-spot to ensure that Skenes would be tagged with his second loss of the season.
“It was exactly what you would want out of a game like this in a four-game set on the road,” Marmol said. “Just the energy, the overall determination -- they're just relentless.”