PITTSBURGH — To outlast and out-blast the Pittsburgh Pirates it took the entirety of the Cardinals roster to rush in and bail out the team when injuries could have left them swamped.
The Cardinals used seven pitchers and all four bats they had on their bench to navigate through Thursday’s 7-6 victory at PNC Park and complete their first series sweep in almost six weeks. The Cardinals had to dodge the sudden departure of their starting pitcher and the loss of their leadoff hitter after his fourth-inning at-bat. They did so by unloading the available batters from the bench to contribute three runs and turning to every corner of the bullpen for innings, including turbulent turns in the eighth and ninth.
Setup man Giovanny Gallegos held a two-run lead through the eighth inning despite allowing the tying run to reach base. He struck out three batters around two singles to cement the hold and carry the game to closer Alex Reyes. An error to start the ninth out a Pirate on base, and Bryan Reynolds’ two-run homer cleared them and the fence to tighten the game.
