ST. LOUIS -- With August coming to a close, the Pirates will take any wins they can get. Pittsburgh is battling to stay in postseason contention, and an 11-15 record this month entering Sunday’s contest surely didn’t help.
However, the Pirates ended August on a positive note, defeating the Cardinals, 5-4, to win their fourth series out of their last five played. Braxton Ashcraft threw five innings, while two homers powered Pittsburgh to a victory.
The Pirates jumped in front for the second consecutive day with a home run. Brandon Lowe got the rally started with an opposite-field double in the second inning. The next batter, Esmerlyn Valdez, just put one over the right-field fence to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead over left-handed starter Matthew Liberatore.
Pittsburgh added another run in the third on a dropped popup by Cardinals shortstop Thomas Saggese. With the Pirates in control, Jared Triolo belted the fifth-longest homer of his career, landing in the second deck, also known in Busch Stadium as “Big Mac Land” after Mark McGwire.
Pittsburgh’s offensive output was plenty for Ashcraft and Co. Ashcraft entered Sunday with a stellar 1.91 ERA in five August starts. To finish out the month, he tossed 4 2/3 scoreless frames before allowing a run on an Ivan Herrera RBI single in the fifth inning. Alec Burleson drove in another run with an RBI single as Kirby Yates began to loosen.
The ever-efficient Ashcraft threw 71 pitches (50 strikes) while keeping St. Louis off balance. The Pirates added on with a Lowe single in the seventh, but Pittsburgh’s bullpen allowed two runs in the bottom half of the inning as Camilo Doval fell into trouble.
The Cardinals nearly flipped the game on its head, but Yohan Ramirez stranded two runners on base to keep the lead. To hold a one-run lead for six outs, Pittsburgh went to its top guns, Luke Weaver and Mason Montgomery. Both sealed the deal for the series win in St. Louis.