×

Cardinals come back to beat Pirates, 11-7

Pittsburgh Pirates starter Jameson Taillon pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals in the first inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dexter Fowler’s two -run triple sparked the St. Louis Cardinals to an 11-7 comeback win over the Pittsburgh Pirates Thursday night at PNC Park.

With the Cardinals trailing 5-4 with one out in the seventh inning, Fowler tripled down the right field line off reliever Joaquin Benoit to give St. Louis a 6-5 lead. Fowler went 2 for 3 with three RBIs, scored three runs and walked twice.

Yadier Molina followed with an RBI single to make it 7-5 and chase Benoit (1-6), who allowed three runs on three hits in a third of an inning. Benoit has surrendered nine runs in six games for the Pirates since being acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies on July 31.

St. Louis added four more runs in the ninth inning before Pittsburgh answered with two in the bottom half.

Fowler went 2 for 3 with three RBIs, scored three runs and walked twice.

Right-hander Sam Tuivailala (3-1) pitched one scoreless inning for the win. He allowed three hits and had two strikeouts.

Pittsburgh left the bases loaded in the sixth inning and stranded runners on second and third in the seventh.

After trailing 5-1 at the end of the third inning, St. Louis rallied to avoid a fourth straight loss while Pittsburgh’s losing streak reached five games. The Cardinals remain third in the National League Central, 1 1/2 games behind the Chicago Cubs.

Josh Harrison gave Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead with a two-run home run in the first inning. Three straight RBI singles in the third pushed the Pirates’ lead to 5-1.

The Cardinals came back with a run in the top of the second to make it 2-1 before scoring one more in the fourth and two in the fifth to cut the deficit to 5-4. Fowler singled to left field in the fifth for their fourth run.

Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright lasted just three innings for the second time in his past three starts allowing five runs on seven hits.

Pirates left hander Jameson Taillon was lifted during a rain delay following the fifth inning. He surrendered four runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts in five innings.

The game resumed in the top of the sixth inning following a delay of one hour and 12 minutes.

DANCING IN THE RAIN

The game was delayed 20 minutes due to rain before starting at 7:25 p.m. While waiting to play, Harrison entertained the Pittsburgh crowd by dancing to “Cotton-Eye Joe” by Rednex. The Pirates second baseman stopped his stretching exercise to perform in left field as the fans applauded..

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (9-9, 3.56) could win his third straight start when he takes the mound against the Pirates on Friday. He surrendered a combined five runs in two consecutive wins, 11-3 over the Kansas City Royals on Aug. 7 and 6-5 over the Atlanta Braves on Aug. 12.

Pirates: RHP Trevor Williams (5-5, 4.19) will look to bounce back from losing his last start when he faces the Cardinals on Friday. He allowed four runs, three of them earned, in six innings in a 7-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Aug. 12.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.73/week.

Subscribe Today