PITTSBURGH — For the second time in their last four games, the Pittsburgh Pirates carried a perfect game into the seventh inning, but this time, they came out on the losing end.
After Paul Skenes retired the first 20 batters he faced on Friday in Milwaukee, four Pirates pitchers combined to retire the first 20 batters against the Cardinals on Monday night, but St. Louis struck for four runs off Dennis Santana in the ninth to sink the Pirates 4-2 at PNC Park.
Bottom 1st, 1-0 PIT: Ryan O’Hearn plated Brandon Lowe from second base with a two-out single to right field off Cardinals starter Dustin May.
Bottom 2nd, 2-0 PIT: The Pirates (16-13) tacked on another off May (3-3) when Jake Mangum shot a single up the middle to score Nick Gonzales from third base.
Top 9th, 2-2: Dennis Santana (2-2) blew the save for the Pirates as the Pedro Pagés and Pittsburgh-native JJ Wetherholt hit back-to-back solo home runs with one out. José Fermín, who did not enter the game until the eighth inning, put the Cardinals (15-13) ahead with a two-run double.
Evan Sisk retired the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the seventh but Alec Burleson legged out a dribbler towards third base against a shifted infield for the first baserunner of the game for the Cardinals. Mason Montgomery, Justin Lawrence and Wilber Dotel were the other pitchers responsible for carrying a perfect game into the seventh.
Dennis Santana had not allowed a home run this season before the Cardinals’ back-to-back jacks. This was only the seventh time in 123 appearances with the Pirates he’s allowed multiple runs.
We're not done! Fermín with a 2-RBI double! pic.twitter.com/fyLadyuN35
In only his third appearance in the big leagues, Wilber Dotel efficiently retired all 12 batters he faced on 44 pitches and struck out a career-high three batters.
Pedro Pagés’ solo home run in the ninth snapped a stretch of 36 straight shutout innings for the Pirates against the Cardinals at PNC Park. Pittsburgh blanked St. Louis each of the last three times in this ballpark.
Wilber Dotel: 4.0 innings, no hits, no runs, no walks, three strikeouts, 44 pitches/32 strikes
Dennis Santana: 0.2 innings, four hits, four runs, two walks, no strikeouts, 27 pitches/15 strikes
Pirates pitchers have recorded at least six strikeouts in 66 straight games. That’s tied with the New York Yankees (August 22, 2017-April 29, 2018) for the fourth-longest streak in the Modern Era (since 1901).
Nick Gonzales extended his hitting streak to eight games. He’s batting .484 (15 for 31) during his streak.
Oneil Cruz was scratched from the starting lineup with an illness. Spencer Horwitz moved up to the leadoff spot in the batting order and Jake Mangum took over in center field.
The Pirates haven’t officially named a starter for Tuesday’s game but the expectation is RHP Braxton Ashcraft (1-1, 2.43 ERA) will come off the bereavement list and take the mound. RHP Kyle Leahy (2-3, 5.63 ERA) will start for the Cardinals. First pitch: 6:40 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh/93.7 The Fan.
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