Cardinals erupt in 12th to beat Pirates
PITTSBURGH -- Adam Wainwright and Matt Adams hit back-to-back doubles and Brandon Moss slugged a three-run homer to key a six-run 12th inning Friday as the St. Louis Cardinals beat Pittsburgh 9-3.
It was a game that might have cost the Pirates something beyond a loss as two regulars left with injuries.
Pittsburgh right-hander and No. 1 starter Gerrit Cole left after facing one batter in the third inning. That batter, Matt Carpenter, singled to give St. Louis its second hit. Cole then summoned a trainer and manager Clint Hurdle for a conference on the mound.
The Pirates said Cole, who threw 35 pitches, had tightness in his right triceps. He is expected to be further examined Saturday.
In the fourth, Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli departed with left hand pain. Batting with one out, he summoned a trainer after taking a big cut on a missed pitch.
A.J. Schugel relieved Cole and pitched four no-hit innings with four strikeouts.
St. Louis starter Michael Wacha allowed two runs on three hits over seven innings.
In the St. Louis 12th, Juan Nicasio struck out the first two batters before Matt Carpenter walked and Aledmys Diaz was intentionally walked.
Wainwright hit a double to center, driving in Carpenter and Diaz. Adams followed with a double off of the right-field wall, bringing home Wainwright.
Jhonny Peralta followed with an infield single and Brandon Moss hit a three-run homer to make it 9-3.
The Cardinals had lost five of their first six games against the Pirates this season and had lost 22 of their previous 31 games at PNC Park.
The Pirates scratched out a run in the second. After back-to-back singles by Starling Marte and Cervelli, Marte scored on a fielder's choice grounder by Josh Harrison.
In the fifth, John Jaso drove in Jordy Mercer with a single to increase Pittsburgh's lead to 2-0.
That was it for the scoring until the eighth, when Neftali Feliz relieved Schugel. Carpenter, with a first-pitch home run inside the right-field foul pole, drove in Eric Fryer, who had singled to right, and pinch-hitter Greg Garcia, who had walked for a 3-2 St. Louis lead.
It was Carpenter's second go-ahead homer in the eighth or later this season, and both have come against Pittsburgh.
The Pirates weren't done, however. Marte led off the ninth with a triple to the right-field corner and scored on Mercer's bloop single to tie it at 3 and send it to extra innings.
NOTES: St. Louis rested right-handed hitters C Yadier Molina, RF Stephen Piscotty and CF Randal Grichuk from its starting lineup against Pirates RHP Gerrit Cole. ... 2B Matt Carpenter, who jammed his hand Thursday at Cincinnati, started for the Cardinals on Friday. ... St. Louis 3B Jhonny Peralta started for the third time in four days since coming off the disabled list. ... Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle made RHP Juan Nicasio available out of the bullpen even though he is listed as the starter Tuesday in New York. Hurdle's bullpen has been pushed to the limit this week in part because of a doubleheader, extra-inning contest and a makeup game on what would have been a day off. ... LHP Jeff Locke is scheduled to face the Mets Wednesday and Cole Thursday for Pittsburgh. ... The Pirates landed in Pittsburgh at 12:37 a.m. Friday after their one-game trip to Colorado.