Just as the last time the Pittsburgh Pirates were coming off a sweep of the Cincinnati Reds, the Pirates kicked off the next series with a loss.
The St. Louis Cardinals handed the Pirates a 2-1 loss to open the six game home-and-home series.
Starter Johan Oviedo pitched well against his former organization, allowing two earned runs across six innings. He crossed the 100 pitch threshold for the first time, throwing a total of 103 with 66 going for strikes. Oviedo struck out four batters while walking two.
The Pirates got on the board first in the fourth inning when Ji-Hwan Bae used a drag bunt towards first to drive in the runner from third base. Bae had quite an eventful Friday evening. In the first inning he dropped a flyball to left field that hit him square in the mitt. He then tracked down a Nolan Arenado flyball in the third inning that ended with him crashing into the wall. At the plate, Bae drove in the Pirates only run while later adding his third double of the season in a 2-for-4 night.
The Cardinals got to Oviedo in the bottom of the fourth when Albert Pujols hit his 701st HR to deep left field. Arenado would drive in the deciding run in the fifth inning on a RBI single.
With the loss, the Pirates drop to 59-98 on the season and needing to win four of five in order to miss another 100 loss season.
Pirates @ Cardinals
Time: 7:15 PM EST
Pirates Starter: Luis Ortiz (0-1, 1.17)
Cardinals Starter: Jordan Montgomery (8-6, 3.50)
Ortiz Notes: This will be Luis Ortiz’s fourth MLB start of the season and his career. So far things have gone great. He’s allowed only two earned runs while striking out 17 in 15.1 IP. It’s very early into Ortiz’s career, but he’s building a decent resume to battle for a rotation spot in 2023 or at least be in the conversation as an immediate depth option.
LINEUPS:
Pirates
Ortiz on the mound tonight.#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/0SPeKUULOA
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) October 1, 2022
Cardinals
1. Brendan Donovan (L) 2B
2. Lars Nootbaar (L) CF
3. Paul Goldschmidt (R) 1B
4. Nolan Arenado (R) 3B
5. Albert Pujols (R) DH
6. Alec Burleson (L) RF
7. Corey Dickerson (L) LF
8. Yadier Molina (R) C
9. Paul DeJong (R) SS
