September 17, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Brendan Donovan (33), left fielder of the St. Louis Cardinals, slides safely past Jared Triolo (19), third baseman of the Pittsburgh Pirates, for a stolen base in the second inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory photo credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Right-hander Lance Lynn allowed just one run on four hits in six innings as the St. Louis Cardinals narrowly defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1 on Tuesday night.
Lynn (7-4) had two walks and five strikeouts and improved his home record to 6-0 this season.
Jordan Walker hit a home run for the Cardinals (76-75), who won the first two games of a four-game series.
Ryan Fernandez led off the seventh inning for St. Louis, Matthew Liberatore escaped a tight spot in the scoreless eighth inning, and Ryan Helsley made his 45th save of the season in the ninth inning.
Bryan De La Cruz hit a home run for the Pirates (71-80).
Pittsburgh starter Bailey Falter (8-8) allowed two runs on four hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings. He had three strikeouts.
Falter got off to a smooth start in the first inning. After Masyn Winn was given a walk and Luken Baker got on base on a fielder’s error, Paul Goldschmidt hit a double play and Nolan Arenado was thrown out.
De La Cruz’s home run in the second inning gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead.
Brendan Donovan hit a leadoff double and stole third base with one out in the bottom of the inning, but Falter retired the next two batters to keep St. Louis off the scoreboard.
The Cardinals tied the game 1-1 in the third inning when Michael Siani hit a leadoff double, stole third base and scored on Baker’s triple with one out.
After Goldschmidt got on base due to an obstruction of the catcher, Arenado managed a double play that ended the inning.
St. Louis took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning thanks to Walker’s solo hit.
Lynn avoided trouble in the fifth inning. After Nick Yorke hit a one-out single and Michael A. Taylor was walked, Nick Gonzales hit a double play.
Gonzales hit a leadoff double in the eighth inning and reached third base on Bryan Reynolds’ single, but Liberatore retired the next three batters to maintain a 2-1 lead.
The Cardinals made it 3-1 in the bottom of the inning. Winn hit a single and Alec Burleson walked, then Winn reached third base on a flyout and scored on Arenado’s sacrifice fly.
–Field level media
