Kang's late blast lifts Pirates over Cardinals
PITTSBURGH -- Jung Ho Kang homered in the eighth inning Wednesday to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, ending an eight-game losing streak.
Pittsburgh (68-69) avoided a sweep by the Cardinals (73-65), who had won three in a row and remain 4 1/2 games ahead of the Pirates in the chase for a National League wild-card spot.
Right-hander Trevor Williams (1-0), a September call-up making his major league debut, pitched three innings of relief for the win. He allowed one unearned run and struck out three.
St. Louis trailed 3-2 after four innings but forged a 3-3 tie in the sixth when Yadier Molina reached on right fielder Adam Frazier's error and scored on Randal Grichuk's single.
That's the way it stayed until the eighth, Kang -- in his second start since coming off of the disabled list after a shoulder injury -- led off for Pittsburgh with a homer into the visiting bullpen in center for a 4-3 lead.
Cardinals Mike Leake, who was activated from the DL after a bout with shingles, started for the first time since Aug. 21. He allowed three runs and nine hits over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out three and walked one. Alex Reyes (1-1) took the loss, allowing Kang's homer in 3 2/3 innings.
Pittsburgh rookie Jameson Taillon gave up two runs on six hits in five innings but ran his pitch count to 95. He struck out five and walked one. Tony Watson pitched the ninth for his 11th save.
St. Louis' National League record-tying run of 25 games with a home run ended.
St. Louis took a 1-0 lead in the first with three straight singles to start the game. The third one, by Matt Adams, drove in Matt Carpenter.
The Pirates responded with two runs in the bottom of the first, on Gregory Polanco's RBI single to right and Kang's RBI infield single, for a 2-1 lead.
The Cardinals tied it in the second when Grichuk was hit by a pitch, stole second and scored on Jhonny Peralta's double to right.
Pittsburgh broke the tie in the fourth when Francisco Cervelli got on with a broken-bat bloop single, advanced on Jordy Mercer's single to right and Taillon's bunt, then scored on Josh Harrison's sacrifice fly for a 3-2 lead.
NOTES: Cardinals 2B Matt Carpenter, who was given a rest Tuesday but came off the bench to hit a two-out, game-tying homer in the ninth, was back in the lineup. ... St. Louis RF Stephen Piscotty was in the lineup after being hit by a pitch on the left wrist in the series opener. ... Pittsburgh LF Starling Marte was out of the starting lineup for the second game in a row because of back spasms. ... Pirates C Francisco Cervelli returned to the lineup. He left Monday's game and missed Tuesday's contest because of a left thumb injury. ... Pittsburgh RHP Neftali Feliz, who left Saturday's game with a sore arm, is not responding as quickly as the club had hoped and is not expected to be able to throw until at least next week. ... Pirates C Elias Diaz had leg surgery for cellulitis (bacterial infection). The team expects a full recovery, but his season is over. ... Entering the game, St. Louis pinch hitters had a collective .347 batting average, which would set a National League season record. ... Rain washed out the Pirates' outdoor batting practice, but it cleared up in time for St. Louis to get outside.