A fourth start, and finally a first win
Quinn Mathews got the ball for a fourth time and finally got the result. The rookie left-hander worked into the sixth inning overnight as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1, and the box score finally had a W next to his name.
Mathews (1-2) gave up one run on five hits, walked one and struck out seven across 5 2/3 innings. Rewind a week and the same pitcher was being hammered by the Phillies for seven runs and 10 hits in five innings. A consensus top-50 prospect before the season, he came up from Triple-A on Aug. 1 and had spent the month looking like a young arm still learning the league.
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Crooks picks the right night
The swing that settled it came from an unlikely bat. Jimmy Crooks arrived at the plate hitting .171 and without a home run since Aug. 3. In the third, after Nolan Gorman doubled and moved to third on an Oneil Cruz error, Crooks turned on a pitch from Jared Jones and sent it 416 feet to right field. Two runs, and St. Louis never trailed again.
Nathan Church added a sacrifice fly an inning later. Jordan Walker collected three hits and scored twice. Jones (2-6) lasted 4 1/3 innings, allowed three runs and lost for the fifth straight time.
A rally that died on a teammate’s leg
Pittsburgh had its moment in the eighth. Ryan Fernandez had retired six in a row before walking Bryan Reynolds, and Caleb Ferguson came in to face Cruz. Cruz hit the ball 105 mph. It struck Reynolds on the leg on its way to right field, and the inning was over. Cruz got a single out of it and nothing else.
The Pirates then handed one back, a wild throw from shortstop Jacob Gonzalez letting Walker score. With closer Riley O’Brien unavailable, Ryne Stanek pitched a clean ninth for his second save.
St. Louis had lost five of six and sits five games behind San Diego for the last National League wild-card place. Pittsburgh, seven back and 10-15 in August, has scored five runs in its past four games.
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