PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jared Jones allowed one hit over seven dominant innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates inched closer to the franchise's first winning season in eight years with a 2-0 win over St. Louis on Tuesday night.
The hard-throwing Jones (5-6) retired the first 16 batters he faced before Nathan Church's bloop landed just beyond the outstretched glove of Pirates third baseman Jacob Gonzalez with one out in the sixth. Church sprinted to second for a double
but remained there after Masyn Wynn lined out and J.J. Wetherholt struck out to end the inning.
Jones, who returned from Tommy John surgery in late May, tied a season high with nine strikeouts in seven innings and improved to 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA in four starts in September. Gregory Soto worked around a leadoff walk to record his 16th save.
Ryan O'Hearn delivered an RBI-single for the Pirates and rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin had two hits for Pittsburgh, and Bryan Reynolds added his major league-leading 40th double. The Pirates have won five straight to improve to 80-77 with five games remaining. Pittsburgh is seeking its first winning campaign since going 82-79 in 2018.
Andre Pallant (12-8) nearly matched Jones pitch for pitch in six innings of work. The right-hander's only hiccup came in the sixth, when Oneil Cruz walked with one out, moved to second on a fielder's choice and scored on O'Hearn's sharp single to left. Pallant is just 2-2 in 10 starts since the All-Star break despite pitching to a 3.00 ERA over that span.
The Cardinals fell to 76-81 with the loss. If St. Louis doesn't win out, the franchise will experience consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 1958 and 1959, the second-longest stretch between consecutive losing years in the history of major North American professional sports.
The series continues on Wednesday. Matthew Liberatore (5-14, 5.36 ERA) gets the start for the Cardinals. The Pirates have yet to announce a starter in what is likely a bullpen game.
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