04/29/26 09:57:00
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04/29 21:55 CDT Church robs Gonzales of what would have been walk-off homer,
preserves Cards' 5-4 win over Pirates
Church robs Gonzales of what would have been walk-off homer, preserves Cards'
5-4 win over Pirates
PITTSBURGH (AP) --- Rookie Nathan Church ended the game by robbing Nick
Gonzales of what would have been a walk-off, two-run homer by making a leaping
catch at the left-field wall, giving the St. Louis Cardinals a 5-4 win over the
Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.
Ryan O'Hearn singled with one out in the ninth off Riley O'Brien and Marcell
Ozuna struck out on three straight pitches. Gonzales drove a first-pitch slider
to left, and Church jumped and caught the ball above the top of the 6-foot
wall, 373 feet from home plate.
Gonzales' drive would have been a home run in 27 of the 30 big league
ballparks, according to MLB Statcast, all but PNC Park, Camden Yards and Globe
Life Field.
O'Brien escaped with his eighth save in 10 chances as the Cardinals won their
third straight in a four-game series that ends Thursday.
Pittsburgh has lost a season-high four straight. The Pirates went 1 for 12 with
runners in scoring position and stranded 11 runners.
Andre Pallante (3-2) allowed one run and five hits in a season-high six innings.
Bubba Chandler (1-3) gave up three runs, three hits and four walks in five
innings.
JJ Wetherholt hit a go-ahead RBI double in the third and Alec Burleson boosted
the lead to 3-0 with a two-run homer in the fifth.
Spencer Horwitz cut the deficit when he homered in the bottom half, but Ivn
Herrera and Jordan Walker boosted the lead to 5-1 in the seventh with RBI
singles against Chris Devenski.
Devenski's contract was selected from Triple-A Indianapolis, and the
35-year-old right-hander debuted for the Pirates, his seventh major league
team. He was charged with one run in two-third of an innings.
Pinch-hitter Nick Yorke had a two-run single in the bottom half against JoJo
Romero, and Oneil Cruz grounded into a run-scoring forceout in the eighth off
George Soriano.
Up next
RHP Hunter Dobbins, acquired from Boston in the Willson Contreras trade in
December, is slated to make his Cardinals debut Thursday when Pittsburgh starts
reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes (4-2, 2.48).
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
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