Pirates take series from rival Cardinals to draw within half a game of wild card spot
PITTSBURGH — Martín Pérez pitched six scoreless innings, Rowdy Tellez homered into the Allegheny River and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat St. Louis 5-0 Wednesday to take two of three games from the Cardinals.
Pérez (2-5) allowed four hits, three in his final two innings, and walked five with two strikeouts. The 33-year-old left-hander entered with a 5.61 ERA after allowing 11 runs in 8 1/3 innings over his last two starts.
“I got confidence,” Pérez said. "It doesn't matter. Every outing I'm always going to trust my stuff. That happened today. I was able to compete and throw a lot of pitches in the strike zone."
Tellez chased Matthew Liberatore (2-3) at the start of the fourth inning by sending a fastball 447 feet into the river beyond the wall in right field, extending the Pirates' lead to five runs.
“It was a good day. It was a good win,” Tellez said. “Martín pitched his butt off. We needed that going into this road trip. It puts us in a good spot.”
Liberatore allowed five runs on four hits in three innings, walking three and striking out three.
The Pirates, who have won eight of their last 10 games, took two of three from the Phillies and Cardinals in their first two series after the All-Star break. They are third in the NL Central, one game behind second-place St. Louis.
“Very important. We get the best team in baseball and then we get the team that's ahead of us in the division," Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton said. “So, to go 4-2 on the homestand is off to a good start. ... We have to continue to play well, but very proud of how we responded coming out of the break.”
The Cardinals, 1/2 game ahead of the Padres for the third wild card, stranded 11 runners and slipped to 3-3 since coming out of the break.
Connor Joe capped a four-run second inning with a two-out, two-run double to left-center, a liner that center fielder Dylan Carlson failed to bring in on a dive. Joe, batting third, picked up his first RBIs since June 11.
Tellez opened the scoring with an RBI single to center. Liberatore walked Andrew McCutchen with the bases loaded to make it 2-0.
“'Libby' just wasn't sharp early,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “You look at the first 10 hitters, three-ball count in five out of 10. Walked three, hit one. Settled in after that.”
Pedro Pagés and Masyn Winn each hit a two-out single before Alec Burleson walked for St. Louis in the fifth inning. Pérez got Willson Contreras to ground to third, leaving the bases loaded.
Contreras flew out to right in the seventh, ending the inning with runners on second and third.
“We didn't come through with the big hit,” Marmol said. “Offensively, we just didn't do enough. ... It's been all year. We're battling through it. There's been some games that are better than others. This is one that didn't go our way.”
Pirates: All-Star OF Bryan Reynolds was scratched from the lineup with back spasms and is considered day-to-day. He leads Pittsburgh with a .288 batting average, 18 home runs and 61 RBIs. ... LHP Bailey Falter (triceps) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday, allowing two runs on five hits with three strikeouts in three innings against Iowa.
Pirates: RHP Luis Ortiz (5-2, 2.57) will take the mound in Arizona on Friday, opening a three-game series against the Diamondbacks.
