Pirates 5, Cardinals 1
PITTSBURGH -- Juan Nicasio was dazzling in his Pittsburgh Pirates' debut, allowing one run and two hits in six innings, as Pittsburgh beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 Wednesday to sweep the three-game series to open the season.
Signed to a one-year, $3 million contract as a free agent in December after pitching primarily in relief for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, Nicasio (1-0) struck out seven and did not walk a batter. That followed an outstanding spring training in which he pitched 15 scoreless innings and 24 strikeouts.
It marks the first time the Pirates have opened a season 3-0 since 2007. The Cardinals (100-62) and Pirates (98-64) had the two best regular-season records in the major leagues last season while finishing 1-2 in the National League Central.
Mike Leake (0-1) did not have such a great Cardinals' debut as he was tagged for four runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. He also had three walks and only one strikeout after signing a five-year, $80 million contract in December.
Mark Melancon retired the only batter he faced for his first save, getting Kolten Wong to hit into a force out with runners on first and second.
Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte had two hits each for the Pirates.
The Cardinals' lone run came when rookie outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker hit his first career home run to lead off the sixth inning.
Leake struggled in his first inning with the Cardinals, giving up two hits, walking two and throwing 42 pitches. Yet the Pirates managed only one run on Gregory Polanco's bases-loaded walk before Leake snared a liner back through the box by Josh Harrison to the end the inning.
The Pirates scored three runs in fifth to increase their lead to 4-0.
Francisco Cervelli's two-run double capped the inning and knocked Leake from the game. John Jaso led off the inning with a triple high off the right-field wall and continued home on second baseman Kolten Wong's off-target relay throw.
NOTES: Cardinals C Yadier Molina tied the franchise record with his 1,439th game caught, equaling the mark set by Ted Simmons from 1968 to 1980. ... St. Louis CF Jeremy Hazelbaker made his first major-league start as CF Randal Grichuk was rested after going 1-for-9 in the first two games of the season. ... Pirates 3B Jung Ho Kang (recovering from reconstructive left knee surgery) played five innings on Wednesday in a minor league intrasquad game in Bradenton, Fla., and had four at-bats, though he was limited to running only to first base. ... Pirates RHP Jared Hughes (strained left lat) threw off the slope of the mound on Wednesday at Bradenton and is expected to throw off the top of the mound in the next few days. ... Both teams are off Thursday before opening three-game series on Friday night. The Cardinals play the Braves at Atlanta with LHP Jaime Garcia (10-6, 2.43 ERA in 2015) facing RHP Matt Wisler (8-8, 4.71 ERA in 2015). The Pirates face the Reds at Cincinnati with LHP Francisco Liriano (1-0, 0.00 ERA) pitching against RHP Alfredo Simon (13-12, 5.05 ERA in 2015).