ST. LOUIS – The Pirates finally woke from their offensive slumber and even rallied to force extra innings.
However, the bullpen issues that’ve plagued them persisted Tuesday against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
Pirates pitchers gave up four home runs, three from relievers, and St. Louis struck big in the bottom of the 10th inning to send the Pirates to their fourth straight defeat.
Designated hitter Ivan Herrera clobbered a walkoff home run to left off Mason Montgomery, completing a 9-6 victory for the Cardinals.
It was the fourth Cardinals homer of the night, all traveling at least 404 feet. Average distance: 414 feet.
"I felt good," Montgomery said. "It’s just about execution. I was trying to get a curveball down and didn’t do that. He put a good swing on it.”
That has happened too frequently against a Pirates bullpen that has a 5.07 ERA this month and one that has blown 10 saves, tied for third-most in the National League.
Manager Don Kelly insisted postgame that he believes in the group. However, the Pirates now sit at .500 (24-24) for the first time since April 30.
Whether the fixes are internal or external, the results need to be better.
"It’s something that we continue to talk about, continue to beat up," Kelly said when asked whether the Pirates might need external help. "What we’ve talked about, too, is there’s gonna be opportunity for guys. … Looking for guys to step up and claim that opportunity."
The Pirates rallied in the ninth to tie the game at six thanks to several mistakes made by Cardinals reliever Riley O’Brien, who hit two batters and issued one walk.
Marcell Ozuna hit into a double play to score one run. Then with two outs, Kelly had Spencer Horwitz pinch hit for Jhostynxon Garcia, who went one for four with a single in his Pirates debut.
Horwitz, who entered the game hitting .500 (six for 12) with runners in scoring position this month, lined a first-pitch sinker the opposite way to score the run and tie the game.
"To come back from 3-0, go up 4-3, then come back in the ninth and have a chance to win, obviously a tough loss," Kelly said.
For a while it looked like home runs by Gorman (sixth inning) and first baseman Alec Burleson (eighth) would sink the Pirates. They came off Sisk and Brandan Bidois, who are pitching in bigger-than-usual spots due to struggles experienced by those above them on the depth chart.
The home run by Gorman hurt more because it came when Kelly tried to play the matchup game and pulled starter Mitch Keller at just 83 pitches, flipping a 4-3 Pirates lead into a 5-4 deficit.
Gorman has not hit left-handed pitching well this year, sporting just a .536 OPS against it. Sisk has been dominant against lefties. On paper, it might’ve looked OK. But you wouldn’t know it by the swing he took against Sisk.
The Pirates’ southpaw left a sinker over the middle of the plate. Gorman crushed it 437 feet to center at 108.2 mph, the two-run blast giving the Cardinals a 5-4 advantage.
"I think it just comes down to execution," Sisk said. "Threw a good fastball before on the outer half and tried to go back to it, and then it kind of leaked over the middle. He put a good swing on it."
The Pirates’ scoreless streak reached 22 innings before they finally broke through in the fifth on a wild pitch. Bryan Reynolds forced a 3-3 tie with his double Oneil Cruz added to the lead two batters later when he lined a single to right.
St. Louis jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind another homer from JJ Wetherholt (Mars) against his hometown team, this time a two-run shot in the third. Wetherholt, who had just one extra-base hit in his past 14 games, got a 2-1 changeup located middle-away and belted it 406 feet to center.
Wetherholt now has nine home runs this season. Three of those have come against the Pirates.
"Changeup down and away. He just put a really good swing on it," Keller said. "I was just kind of in shock, honestly. It didn’t sound like it off the bat."
The Cardinals added a third run when Burleson and right fielder Jordan Walker opened the fourth with singles, and Burleson scored when Gorman hit into a double play.
Three thoughts
1. Interesting situation involving Ozuna. First, I was surprised Kelly didn't pinch-hit Horwitz for him in the ninth. Ozuna ultimately hit into a double play. But also the Pirates manager saying it’s time for Ozuna to start producing more.
"We had talked about it and had Spence for Garcia," Kelly said when asked about pinch-hitting Horwitz for Ozuna. "Probably the worst thing that could have happened was the double play. It happened. But Ozuna is a professional hitter. He’s had some good at-bats recently. I know the recent stretch hasn’t been as good. We need to get him going."
Yes, they do need to get Ozuna going. It's almost June.
2. Keller actually pitched well. The changeup to Wetherholt wasn't a problem pitch. Keller walked one and deserved the chance to get out of the sixth.
Had he done so, he would have recorded his seventh quality start.
3. I'm not worried about the Pirates offense. I don't expect them to rank sixth in runs, as they did prior to this one, but it should be good enough to compete with this starting rotation.
The concern is very clearly the bullpen. They're losing too many winnable games because of it. Some way, shape or form, they need to find reinforcements.
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH.