Burleson's Heroic Double Lifts Cardinals Over Pirates 2-1; Skenes Struggles Persist Against St. Louis

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Alec Burleson smashed a two-run double, Matthew Liberatore fanned eight batters over his longest outing of the season spanning seven innings, and the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates with a score of 2-1 on Tuesday evening.

Liberator (3-3) gave up only one run on three hits and three walks as the Cardinals secured their longest winning streak of the season at four games. Gordon Graceffo recorded his inaugural career save with a flawless ninth inning.

Paul Skenes (3-4) surrendered two runs on three hits over six innings, fanning six batters and issuing four walks as Pittsburgh suffered their sixth consecutive defeat and their ninth loss in the past ten games. This result brought Skenes' record to 0-4 in his five career starts against St. Louis.

In the sixth inning, with two outs, Burleson hit a double off Skenes, scoring Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras. Burleson (who is hitting .400 after six at-bats) has accumulated more career hits against Skenes than against any other Major League pitcher.

Ke'Bryan Hayes' line drive to the opposite field drove in Oneil Cruz, giving the Pirates a 1-0 advantage in the sixth frame. Over his past 16 games, Hayes has been hitting successfully in 14 of them, and this was his third multi-hit game within his last four appearances.

Hayes' hit ended a five-inning dry spell for Liberatore, who had struck out 17 of the last 19 batters he faced.

Contreras, having two walks, extended his consecutive on-base game streak to nine matches.

Key moment

Following the Pirates' lead in the top of the sixth, Skenes managed to retire the first two hitters but then faced some difficulties in the bottom half of the inning. The rally began when Arenado hit a single, followed by Contreras drawing a walk. This set the stage for Burleson's double.

Key stat

Over his five appearances against the Cardinals across 32 2/3 innings, Skenes has been backed by only three total runs of support.

Up next

The Pirates will have their right-handed pitcher Mitch Keller (1-3, 4.38 ERA) start on Wednesday for the final game of the series, while the Cardinals plan to send out right-hander Sonny Gray (3-1, 4.12 ERA).

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