PITTSBURGH -- JJ Wetherholt has been to PNC Park plenty of times, but he’d never had a night like Monday.
The Cardinals’ rookie second baseman’s home run sparked a four-run rally in the ninth inning as the Redbirds rallied for a 4-2 victory in the opener of a four-game series. St. Louis ended its four-game losing streak.
Growing up in the northern Pittsburgh suburb of Mars, Pa., Wetherholt was a big Pirates fan and idolized outfielder Andrew McCutchen. There was also a time, as a child, when Wetherholt was late to his own party at PNC Park because his friend’s father couldn’t find a parking space close to the stadium.
Wetherholt played collegiately at West Virginia and took part in three Backyard Brawls against Pitt, which are played annually at PNC Park.
Yet it was a different situation for Wetherholt on Monday night. It marked Wetherholt’s first time in Pittsburgh as a Major League player.
The Cardinals trailed, 2-0, entering the ninth inning, but Pedro Pagés and Wetherholt hit back-to-back homers off Dennis Santana to tie the score. José Fermín then hit a two-run go-ahead double into the left-field corner.
Four Pirates pitchers combined to hold the Cardinals without a baserunner through 6 2/3 innings before Alec Burleson’s two-out infield single off Evan Sisk in the seventh broke up the perfect-game bid.
Burleson hit a ground ball that third baseman Nick Gonzales backhanded. However, Burleson beat the throw to first.
Opener Mason Montgomery and Justin Lawrence pitched one inning each, and Wilber Dotel worked the next four innings. Sisk pitched two-thirds of an inning before he was relieved by Isaac Mattson following Burleson’s hit.
Wetherholt went 1-for-4.
“It’s crazy,” Wetherholt, St. Louis' No. 1 prospect, said before the game. “It’s kind of a goofy experience, but it’s such an honor to be here. Playing against the team you grew up rooting for will always hold a special place in your heart.
“For me, I feel like it’s just how many games I’ve watched here, so I feel like I know this park better than any other park. Just being here as a kid and playing here a little bit in college was super cool. The backdrop of the city you grew up in, to be able to play in a ballpark like that is special.”